Tale of Ages: The Fan Saga
by nowuseeme17
Summary: Part 1 of the Tale of Ages series. It's the story of a girl who is randomly transported into a universe in which Bardock survived Frieza's attack on Planet Vegeta, spawning some interesting changes. Now, in an effort to return home, she must learn to fight a new enemy that has become a threat to every universe...including hers! Get ready for a Dragon Ball tale not told before!
1. Chapter 1: A Simple Wish

**AN: Alright! Before you read this, I would HIGHLY reccommend that you read my profile to get a few important details before reading this story! I've had this idea in my mind for quite a while now and hopefully I'll be able to tell it well. Ever since Dragon Ball Z Kai came out, it's reawakened my inner fan. Then one day I did something I know I shouldn't have done: I let my imagination run free. Then I got this crazy idea in my head, what would happen if someone who was a big fan of the series here gets transported to the DBZ universe only to find it's not exactly the universe they were expecting? Don't know what that means? Just read the story and it will get cleared up. Anyway, I'm new at this type of writing, but I'll try and keep the story consistent and professional. Enjoy Chapter 1!**

**Oh, and I don't own any of the DB, DBZ, or DBGT series. **

Tale of Ages-The Fan Saga- Chapter 1:

Lightning danced from every angle in the now darkened sky. With each bolt of light came a piercingly loud roar of thunder. The ground rumbled with a tremendous earthquake. The barren wastelands that surrounded the area, made up of nothing but shrubs and rocks, caved in from below from the shock of the quake. Chunks of earth seeminly fell to the depths of the earth. And to top it off, the winds had picked up to the point that one would find it difficult to keep from getting knocked down by the violent gusts. It seemed that the world was literally falling apart, minute by minute. That was just what one being, the cause of all of this destruction, was intending for it to do.

Suddenly, a large portion of the clouds began to twist and turn. The clouds morphed into a large oval, and soon after, human-like facial features began to become visible. First, the nose and arches for what would be the eyebrows became defined. Then, the lips, ears, cheeks, mouth and eyes formed soon afterward. The eyes themselves, however, were just empty spaces of darkness, same as the mouth. It was held agape with the inside showing nothing but blackness. It seemed as if the face's own mouth was sucking in all the air left in the atmosphere, causing the strong currents of wind.

The human-like face hovered in the center of the stormy sky and seemed to be looking down at the ground below it with those black, soulless, empty, sockets. But it was indeed focused on something. From where the sinister being was hovering, the object appeared to be a small line on a piece of ground not yet completely torn apart by the quakes. Even from such a high elevation, one could see some shape and color coming from the figure. There was a little tan, blue, and black coming from the head of the figure, which could only be perceived as their hair. It had an unusual style to it, too. It seemed to go in many directions and was very spiky. The figure just stood there, looking directly up at the being's floating face in the sky. The being then spoke, but its lips didn't move. Its voice was deep and booming just like the continuing thunder around the two.

"**I must admit that I am impressed, boy,"** said the being. He words echoed through the shattered wastelands. **"You managed to survive much longer than the others. But I** **suppose that I shouldn't be expecting any less from you, **_**Son Goku**_**, the one known as the greatest fighter of all time." **

Yes, it was indeed Goku who was standing on the ground opposing the being. He had a hairstyle that could be recognized anywhere. Instead of wearing his traditional dark orange and blue martial arts clothing, he wore a light blue sleeveless martial arts shirt, light bronze baggy pants, black shoes, and a white sash tied around his waist. Well, it was what he _was _wearing a few hours ago, before this mayhem started. Now, his shirt was completely gone with shreds dangling over his sash. His pants where covered in burn marks and holes. Goku himself was covered in scratches, bruises, and had blood running down his face. He didn't look too happy about how the fight was going. Whatever happened in the battle beforehand, Goku had gotten a real beating. He stayed silent and kept his serious gaze on the fearsome head floating above him as he continued to speak.

" Greatest fighter, eh? I beg to differ, boy. Look at yourself. You have spent quite a bit of your time trying to get to me, and now you are battered severely. It will not be long before you meet the same fate as the rest of your comrades."

As the menacing face was saying these things, lightening continued to dart to and fro in the sky. The bolts were so bright that each time they darted across the sky, it brightened the entire wasteland. Not too far off in the distance, the flashes of light revealed the broken, lifeless bodies of what remained of the Z Warriors. Vegeta, Piccolo, Yamcha, Tien, Krillin, Chiaotzu, and Trunks. Even his own two sons Gohan and Goten laid on the hollow ground.

Goku looked at the gruesome sight of his fallen friends and looked back up to the face the menace responsible.

"I won't give up yet! And you'll pay for what you did to them! I swear it!" cried Goku. His voice showed a little more anger with every word he spoke, but who could blame him.

With that, he clenched both his fists, stood straight and gave a powerful battle cry. His aura turned bright gold. His hair turned a bright gold as well and spiked upwards. His eyes turned from black to green in a quick flash. Small sparks of electricity danced around him. He had just powered up to Super Saiyan two.

He then lunged straight up in to the sky towards the gigantic face, leaving a small crater in the ground from where he was standing. He increased his speed a bit more and said, "What you have done in unforgivable! I won't let you destroy the earth! I won't let you hurt anyone else!"

Goku then positioned his hands to his right side and curved his hands as if holding a small ball. He was about to perform his signature attack.

"KA-ME…" Immediately after he spoke, a brilliant blue light glowed in the empty space between his hands,

"HA-ME…" The light got even brighter and bigger. Goku was now several hundred feet from the emotionless face of the being. He then knew now would be to time to strike. He fastened his hand ready to blast off the attack. He then thrust his hands forward with powerful speed. He gave one last shout to complete the move.

"HAAAA—"

"Caroline McBride!"

The shout of her name quickly woke Caroline out of her dream. She than saw her teacher, Ms. Hodge standing right next to her seat, with an angry gaze that seemed to pierce Caroline's very core. She hadn't intended on dosing off, but in Ms. Hodge's class, it was an avoidable for some people. Caroline was instantly full of shame for falling asleep during class, but Ms. Hodge woke her up from such a entertaining dream. She wanted to know what was going to happen next. But that curiosity soon faded as she noticed that her entire class was starring at her, some with smirks and others with frowns of pity for the punishment she was about to receive.

Ms. Hodge was what one would call a very strict teacher. She absolutely would not tolerate any unacceptable behavior from any student. One wrong action and it was straight to the principle. Not only that, but her teaching methods were very strict also. She presented no life whatsoever into her lessons, which made it all the more boring. But the one thing, the worst possible thing a student could so was to find some way to insult her. Whether it would be a rude comment, and crude joke, or even a giggle, it would set her off. And what could insult Ms. Hodge more then to fall asleep through one of her lessons out of boredom? Caroline could only give off a terrified look and guess at what was in store for her.

"I don't know how you do it, young lady, but I had to raise my voice twice to get your attention. Twice! Didn't your parents ever tell you how rude it is to fall asleep when someone is speaking to you?" asked Ms. Hodge in an angered tone.

Caroline tried to think of a way to explain herself, but couldn't. She looked down at the textbooks at her desk and meddled with her fingers out of nervousness.

"Sorry, Ms. Hodge. I guess I just didn't get enough sleep last night. I didn't mean to fall asleep." She said sheepishly.

"Well, 'sorry' will not cut it, Miss Caroline. I don't care if you've gone three days without sleep! I will not tolerate that kind of behavior in my classroom! I'm very disappointed in you, Caroline."

Ms. Hodge then turned to the rest of her students. "And just to prove how important it is to pay attention during lessons, we will now have a pop quiz over the information that we just went over. We'll have just enough time before eighth period starts. Alright, everyone take out a sheet of paper and something to write with."

Caroline turned from nervous to furious. She would have liked more to had been sent to the principle's office rather than getting a failing grade. It was all because she had stayed up all night goofing off and watching movies on her laptop. For the past few years, that routine gave her no trouble, but now it was starting to take a toll on her, and she cursed at herself for her stupidity.

"_Crap! This sucks. I knew I should've just gone to bed. Now Ms. Hodge will never get off my case,"_ she thought to herself.

She hated feeling humiliated, especially by Ms. Hodge. It took a few minutes, but she managed to repress her anger long enough to try and focus on her quiz that she was nowhere near prepared for.

Later that day, Caroline walked silently to her car. She didn't want to think about the whole "sleeping during class" incident again since it would just get her angry, so she tried to blew off the matter. Instead, she decided to focus about the ending of her junior year and how she'd become a senior once summer was over. She was ready to get out of her hometown and be out on her own. She had seen enough of Leafsburg, Indiana and was _really_ tired of her high school. She wanted go somewhere where she could get a good start as an independent adult, even though the idea of being so far away from home scared her a little.

She silently drove herself home and opened the door of her house. Her mother was sitting at the dining room table, helping her little sister, Leanne, with some of her homework. Leanne and her mom looked a lot like each other, with the same light brown hair and brown eyes. Leanne had a lot more sass though. She would always make comments about Caroline's little hobbies. One of those hobbies was watching cartoons like Dragon Ball Z and other anime. Caroline had been watching the series since she was about ten years old and was a hardcore fan ever since. She did admit it was a little odd for a teenage girl to like that kind of stuff, but to her, there were just some childhood obsessions you just couldn't shake. And besides, a quick chase across the hall would usually settle it. Caroline could care less about what her bratty little sister thought of her.

"Hey, mom. I'm home," said Caroline as she headed towards the stairs to her room.

"Oh, hello Caroline," replied her mother, turning her head to face her. "How was school?" she asked.

"Fine," lied Caroline. That's all she really did say about her day when her mom asked that question. "How was your and Jeremy's day?" she asked.

"Oh, it was alright. Your brother was quite the handful today. Must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed or something. I've finally been able to get some peace since I got him to take a nap," said her mom in an exhausted tone.

Caroline quickly lost interest in the conversation and made her way up the stairs. "I'm going to do some homework. Call me when dinner's ready," she said, as she was halfway up to the second floor.

"Oh, Caroline," called her mother. "Try not to wake up your brother, okay? Oh, and you got a package in the mail today. I left it on your bed."

"Okay. Thanks, mom," replied Caroline with a hint of fatigue in her voice. All she wanted to do was get her homework done, crawl into bed, and catch up on the hours of sleep that she missed the night before so that what happened today would never happen again.

As she walked down the upstairs hallway she stopped at the first door to her left which had a poster of a yield sigh with child-sized handprints plastered all over it in different colors that read, "CAUTION: JEREMY'S ROOM." She quietly opened the door and tiptoed her way to Jeremy's bed, trying to avoid all the toddler toys lying on the carpet.

Jeremy slept peacefully in his bed, his favorite green blanket covered all the way to his shoulders. A little drool came down his chin. He had the same blonde hair and blue eyes as Caroline's, just like how her mom and sister looked the same. She liked the fact that they looked alike, but she liked his cute little smile more than anything else. She loved her baby brother, even though he was a pain sometimes, and her baby brother loved her. She decided to leave her brother alone and slightly closed the door behind her.

She then went to her own room, threw her book bag and car keys on one side of her bed. She was about to throw herself on the bed to rest, but then noticed a small cardboard box with a stamp on it. The read the address on the box that stated where it was sent from, but could not read it because half of it appeared to be Japanese. She then tore the tape from the box and opened it up only to find a round object wrapped in rubber bands and bubble wrap. She picked up the unknown object to try to guess what it was. It was a little heavy and definitely solid, but she couldn't determine what it could be. So, She decided to unwrap it.

She gasped in surprise to find that what was inside the plastic mess was a bright orange, glass orb. Once she saw the four red stars in the center of the orb, she then knew what it was. It was a dragon ball. She then noticed it had black symbols scribbled on one side. Caroline suspected it was Japanese. What the writing said, she didn't know.

"What the crap?" she asked herself still surprised. "Who sent me this?"

She then looked down in the box and found a folded piece of paper. She laid the dragon ball on her bed and read what was on the sheet. In big lettering at the top of the page read,  
"CONGRAGULATIONS! YOU ARE OUR LATEST CONTEST'S WINNER!"

"_A contest?"_ thought Caroline. She read on.

"We are happy to inform you that you are the one of the lucky winners for this year's special contest. This year's contest was a real treat for all you Dragon Ball fans out there. Thanks to Akira Toriyama's cooperation, we have been able to give away seven custom made Dragon Ball Z trademark dragon balls, all of which are autographed by Akira Toriyama himself!"

Caroline's eyes widened and glanced at the writing on the dragon ball. She now understood that the writing was actually the signature of the man who created the entire Dragon Ball series. She stared in awe at the ball for a moment, but then continued reading.

"Each winner gets a ball with the number that corresponds with what place they're in, and we here at 'Manga Central' congratulate you on being winner number four! We also thank you for participating in our contest. Enjoy your prize! Sincerely, the heads of 'Manga Central'."

Caroline couldn't believe her luck. She had just won an autographed custom-made prize! She tried to remember when she had subscribed to this magazine called "Manga Central." Then it hit her. It had been about five months ago when she was looking through a magazine that she had bought from a grocery store. While looking through the pages, a small note card fell on to the ground. Caroline read the note card out of curiosity. It said something about winning a special prize dedicated to the Dragon Ball series. _"What the heck. It couldn't hurt,"_ thought Caroline. So, she filled out the application, mailed it, and now she was one of the seven winners of an incredible contest.

"Oh my gosh! I won! I can't believe I won! This is awesome!" She could barely contain her excitement. She didn't know what to do with herself. Then she quickly remembered her dream, the dream of Goku and the Z Warriors.

"It must've been a sign," figured Caroline as she stared in appreciation of whoever made it's craftsmanship. It felt sleek and smooth. It looked so polished that it could shine in total darkness. It truly was a wonderful prize. The excitement of it all beamed through her as she gazed at the ball. She then leapt onto the bed, arms and legs spread in both happiness and exhaustion. She then tried to remember the dream as best as she could. All she could remember was the showdown between Goku and the face in the clouds.

Caroline than imagined what it would be like to fly and have the powers of like Goku's or any fighter from that world for that matter, but then pushed those thoughts aside. It seemed like a childish desire. Even in her normal life, there was always a sense of slight insignificance. She never felt like she did anything important, she was just there. She didn't want to be a part of the real world, a world that was full of brain numbing uncertainty and constant risk of failure. The idea of growing up and having to live in that reality terrified her on occasion. But if she was in that world, there were so many intriguing possibilities. A world full of action, excitement, adventure…It's no wonder that she could never grow out of admiring it in the first place. There, there was no need to fear failure. All you could do was keep trying, and you'd eventually succeed.

She then propped herself up with her arms and picked up the custom dragon ball and stared it for a moment and laid back down on the bed. She then closed her eyes and laid her arm holding the dragon ball on her side.

Without even hesitating she softly said the first thing that came to mind, mostly because she was too tired to care.

"I wish I could live in a world like Dragonball," she said as she dosed off to sleep.

Suddenly, the dragon ball began to glow in her hand, a bright orange glow that seemed to reflect on the whole room. Wind came out of nowhere and papers and other trinkets in Caroline's room flew all over the place. A stuffed animal on one of the shelves on the wall blew off and hit Caroline in the face, which had enough force to startle her. Once she saw all of her things flying across the room she knew something was wrong. She looked at the glowing dragon ball that radiated with much intensity, which made her too frightened to scream. Then, right in front of her bed, it seemed as if the fabric of time and space was being ripped open within her own bedroom. The hole that was being torn through mid air gave way to a black void that seemed endless. And to make matters worse, the wind that was once moving around her room was now pulling everything into that large dimensional hole, including Caroline! She desperately tried to find something to hold on to, but all she could do was cling to her bed frame. She screamed, but the wind carried it of so fast that _she_ didn't even hear it. The longer she clung to the frame, the more powerful the suction became. Then, the dragon ball itself, which Caroline still miraculously still had in her hand was drawn towards the vortex, like a magnet. Caroline tried to pull it away, but the force was too great. She was then thrown from her bed and sucked into the vortex. As soon as Caroline passed through the hole, the commotion in her room instantly stopped and the flying objects dropped to the ground. The last few things to hit the floor were some of Caroline's belongings. Silence was the only thing that filled the room.


	2. Chapter 2: A Fall Into Madness

Chapter 2: A Fall Into Madness

It was a beautiful day in Satan City. The sun shined brightly over the gleaming metropolis. Large, puffy, white clouds slowly floated their way across the deep blue sky. Even though it was getting close to summertime, a gentle, cool, breeze still swayed through the area. The streets of the city were filled with people and cars going to their own destinations. Businessmen lined up at curbs to either catch a taxi or their busses to get to work. Children held the hands of their parents as they walked down the sidewalks to go shopping, and bikers and other pedestrians crossed the crosswalks of the busy intersections. It had been almost fifteen years after the terror of Majin Buu had ended. Now that event had been practically forgotten by the world's people and the Earth was at a time of peace and harmony once again.

A few miles away from the city, on a nearby cliff sat a man with a very unique, spiky, style of black hair. He wore a dark blue and green chest plate of armor with green shoulder straps. His pants were dark gray and a bit baggy. His shoes matched his armor and were shaped to a point around the toes. On his tan arms, he wore red, fingerless gloves that stretched almost all the way up to his elbows. He also had a light-colored scar that made up most of his left cheek. What was odd was that he had some furry brown belt wrapped around his waist, which actually was his tail that looked very similar to that of a monkey's. But the one feature about the man that seemed the most interesting was that he was wearing a blood red headband tied around his forehead. It was Bardock, the father of the fighter known as Goku. He sat on the grassy ground near the edge of the cliff that gave way to a beautiful view of the city. His arms rested on his crossed legs, with his eyes closed in deep meditation.

Now that the evil Majin Buu had been defeated, there was no longer a need to fight in order to save the world, but that wouldn't stop Bardock. His Saiyan blood practically begged him to continue his training. He lived long enough in this world to know that peace wouldn't last forever. Something bad would come along one day, and since Goku had left about five years ago to train young Ubb, Kid Buu's good incarnation, he felt it was his responsibility to lead the Z Warriors until his youngest son's return. He had finished his morning training session a while ago, and now he had to dedicate some time to training his mind. In battle, it was always important to have a sound mind and body when fighting a strong opponent. That became very clear to him after reflecting on his battles in the past, especially after what happened when Babidi had led an assault on the city.

He sat there as still as a statue, the wind ran through his hair and he could hear practically every bird in the area chirp with their high-pitched birdcalls. He had to admit, his time here on Earth had taught him to take a few moments to appreciate the natural beauty that surrounded him. This planet that he had now accepted as his home was truly a sight to behold, with it's visibly endless, sparkling oceans, thick flourishing forests, and impressive canyons and mountains. This made his meditation periods all the more enjoyable. Then, suddenly he felt a little on edge. He sensed no high or strange power levels nearby, but he could feel a sensation that he had not experienced in a long while. A sharp pain he felt in the back of his neck quickly ran down his spine. Bardock then knew what was happening to him. He was about to see one of his visions. This was the result of the gift of foresight that he had received on his mission to the planet called Kanassa with his fellow Saiyan comrades when a survivor passed it on to him just before he was killed. It was the gift that allowed Bardock to see his entire home planet get destroyed by the tyrant Frieza. It was also when he saw his son, Goku, as an adult oppose Frieza on planet Namek. But this vision was different.

As soon as he opened his eyes, the hills, mountains, and the city that was set in front of him became a blur. Bardock then found himself staring into nothing but the crystal blue sky, littered with large clouds. He noticed that he was hundreds, maybe _thousands_ of feet in the air above the city. He then looked up and saw something in the distance. From where he was, the object that caught his attention appeared to have the shape and clothing of a regular person. As the person fell further and further down, their features became much more visible. It looked like a young girl, one who couldn't possibly be over twenty. She wasn't wearing any shoes, but she _was_ wearing typical Earthling clothing. He hair was blonde and short, and her face was contorted in different ways because of how the air was pushing her cheeks back. Another thing Bardock noticed right away was that the girl was screaming all the way down at the top of her lungs. Obviously, someone had to rescue her. But there was nothing Bardock could do. All he could was watch as the girl flailed her arms and legs as she continued to fall head first towards Satan City.

_"Oh no! This isn't good,"_ thought Bardock as he observed the spectacle.

Just as she was about a few hundred feet above some of the city's buildings, a boy flew in out of nowhere and caught her in mid air. Bardock instantly recognized the boy that had saved her. It was Goten, his youngest grandson.

_"Phew! That was close. Are you okay?" asked Goten._

_The girl looked up at Goten, was silent for a few seconds and then gave a confused look._

_"G-Goten?" she asked in disbelief._

With that, the vision ended. Goten and the girl instantly vanished and Bardock again saw just the mountains and the city in the distance. He was no longer in the sky, but back in his spot on the cliff side. A little sweat had begun to accumulate on his brow, as it did whenever he had a vision. He just sat there in his cross-legged position and tried to mentally process what he had just seen.

"What the hell was that?" he asked himself while scratching his head in confusion. The vision didn't give any clues to how or why the girl was just falling in mid air, or who she was. And why was Goten there anyway? He thought back for a moment and then remembered something that his daughter-in-law, Chi-Chi and had mentioned the day before.

_"Oh I remember now. Goten was going to the city with Trunks and some of his other friends today,"_ recollected Bardock. It seemed pretty apparent that this vision he just had was going to most likely going to happen sometime today.

He was then relieved to know that the girl was in no real danger considering Goten would eventually save her, but the fact that the girl knew his grandson puzzled him a bit. All he knew was that he himself had definitely never seen her before. Perhaps she was one of Goten's friends at his school or maybe even one of his neighbors by his house. Regardless, seeing her fall from the sky for no apparent reason was suspicious enough and he felt it was best to go and investigate. Maybe if he waited at just the right spot, he could get to her before Goten could and hopefully get some answers. With his mind made up, he got up, and flew at turbo speed towards the city.

* * *

Meanwhile, in what could only be perceived as a wormhole of time and space, spiraled Caroline, screaming all the way. Lights of every color dashed all around her. Sometimes she couldn't anything but pitch black, and a flash of light would appear every now and again, but that was the least of Caroline's worries. She had just been literally sucked into this place only a few seconds ago and she was now free falling into God knows where. The thing that began to trouble her the most was that she felt that her entire body was going through some terrifying changes. Internally, she had this feeling that her organs were being turned inside out and then back again. The only thing that felt normal inside her was her heart trying to pound its way out her chest. On the outside, her arms, legs, and head went through periods of extreme hot and cold flashes. Also, whenever she wasn't burning up or freezing, her limbs would feel like all of her nerves were coming alive and crawling around in her skin. Tears swelled in her eyes as she continued to panic. All she could thinks about was what was going to happen to her next. She was afraid that she would die in this abyss, and she never even got to say goodbye to her friends and family.

Just as she was about to give up all hope of relief from this living nightmare, she saw a small speck of white light that looked to be right in front of her, and it was slowly getting bigger. It was the light at the end of the tunnel, and Caroline prayed that it would lead her somewhere safe. As she got closer to the light, she noticed that those weird sensations were beginning to fade. This made Caroline all the more happy. The light was beginning to look like a large, white circle just big enough for her to pass through. Even though the strong current of wind that pulled her towards the light was overpowering, she managed to move her right hand in front of her face to shield her eyes from the blinding light. She held her breath and closed her eyes tightly, being ready for anything.

Even with her eyes closed, she could tell that the bright light had faded once she passed through. She slowly opened her eyes, hoping to see the ground below her to stand on. She saw the ground; only there was one problem. It was thousands of feet below her. Not only that, but it appeared that there was large mass of gray, brown, and white dots and lines, which was the city and highways below her. The city was surrounded by green and brown fields, with forests that stretched for miles.

It took Caroline a few seconds to let the gears in her head shift in order for her to register what predicament she was now in. It wasn't until she began to accelerate downward that she realized that she was in deep trouble.

"What the- " gasped Caroline as her speed increased. Once again she was falling, but now she knew that eventually, she was going to land, and it wouldn't be pleasant. She let go of the autographed dragon ball that she somehow managed to hold until now, and it fell along with her. All Caroline thought she could do now was scream until the inevitable happened. And that's what she did.

"AAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEE!"

* * *

Meanwhile, many, many feet below in the city, a group of young adults walked down the crowded sidewalk. The group consisted of two boys in their twenties, and a young woman about the same age. One of the boys had his arm around the woman and she had her arm around his. The other boy, with short, light violet hair, just walked beside them with a bottled soft drink in one hand, and a small shopping bag in the other.

The young man with the girl at his side was young Goten, who was just escorting his current girlfriend back to her dorm. His hair was just as all over the place as his father's, but he had it cut so that it wouldn't reach his shoulders. Trunks, the other boy, had decided to tag along on his friend's outing. He didn't mind being the third wheel whenever Goten had a date. He would serve as his best friend's "Plan B" in case the date went horribly wrong. If that were to happen, he and Goten would just go off and do something else together. That's how they both had operated for a while now. Plus, it was either that or he'd just be at home training with his father, Vegeta, constantly. Or, he'd be nagged by his mother to focus more on how he'd eventually need to learn how to manage the entire Capsule Corporation. Yes, tagging along with Goten seemed much better than doing any of that.

"Goten, thanks for going shopping with me today. It was really sweet of you," said Goten's date with a cheerful smile.

Goten couldn't help but blush and put his hand around his head in slight embarrassment.

"Ha, Ha. Oh, it was nothing. I had a pretty good time," replied Goten.

"Oh, me too!" exclaimed his date. Trunks just walked along with them, watching the couple. He thought that this particular girl seemed a bit too peppy for his taste, but he knew that he shouldn't judge. If Goten liked her, that was good enough for him. He then felt the urge to look briefly up at the crystal blue sky. It was indeed at beautiful day. He was about to turn his attention back to his friends, but something caught his eye. At first it was a small dot that seemed to be staying in one place, but as he watched it more closely, Trunks saw that not only was it moving downward, but the closer it got the more it started to look like…somebody falling!

"Goten! Look up there! In the sky!" yelled Trunkd. He pointed to the person falling so Goten could see it.

"What is it, Trunks," asked his friend. But as soon a he followed where Trunk's finger was pointing, he had a look of shock on his face. His date however did not possess the same heightened vision and was very confused.

"Goten, what is it? What're you all looking at?" the young woman asked anxiously.

Ignoring the question, Goten sprung to action. He instantly dashed through the sky at a quick speed and flew straight toward the helpless person.

"Goten, wait!" yelled Trunks.

"It's okay! I'll catch 'em, " yelled back Goten. He flew as quick as he could before it was too late.

…

Around the same time, Bardock was floating just above the center of the city. He had been waiting patiently for almost half an hour now and was beginning to get a little restless. He figured that this area would be the prime spot for this mystery girl to show up, but as time went on he wondered if it would ever come to pass.

"Darn. This is ridiculous. If she doesn't show up in this area where else could she be?" he asked himself. Then, he heard a faint scream in the distance. He turned his head to where it was coming from. Sure enough, even from far away he could tell, the scream was coming from the same girl whom he had seen in his vision.

"Huh? Ah-ha! There she is!" yelled Bardock.

There was no time to waste. Within a few minutes, her body would soon be one with the concrete. He flew as fast as he could, but in the back of his mind, he knew it would be unlikely for him to make it in time. He then felt a familiar power level and recognized it as Goten's.

_"Well, if I can't catch her, he can,"_ though Bardock. He continued to fly towards the falling girl but slowed down a bit when he saw that Goten was just a few feet away, knowing that Goten would get her.

Caroline continued to freefall for what felt like a few seconds. Her life was flashing in front of her eyes, and her voice was getting hoarse from the screaming. The closer she got to the ground, the more detailed the city became. She began to see the little cars made up of different colors making their way across the roads. Little specks of people were seen covering the sidewalks. She could see the roofs of the many buildings and sky scrappers. But some of the buildings looked funny, though. The tops of them were round and spherical, while the body was tall and thin, like a cue tip. But that didn't concern her. What concerned her was that she was falling to her death, and there was no hope of her getting out of it. As the roads in the street came closer and closer, she shut her eyes tightly again, and braced herself for the impact. Suddenly, the falling stopped. It took her a moment to realize that he was no longer falling anymore and that someone was holding her. She carefully opened her eyes and looked down. Bellow her, she was just several hundred feet from the ground. People were gazing up at her from the streets in utter disbelief. A male, cheery, almost familiar voice snapped her out of her trance.

"Phew! That was close. Are you okay?" asked the voice.

Caroline slowly turned her head towards the voice and looked up at her rescuer, but her eyes widened and her jaw dropped at the sight of his face. She recognized him as Goten, Goku's youngest son. She then saw flashbacks of every single time she saw him on her television at home, all from when he was a seven-year-old boy to when he was an adult. There was a slight difference, though. His hair was cut a bit differently. But what concerned her was that Goten was even there, that she could feel him holding her up in mid air. But that would be impossible. Technically, he didn't exist. Completely forgetting his question, all she could give as a response was a dumbfounded stutter.

"G-Goten?" she asked quivering.

Goten was surprised that the stranger he just saved knew his name "Uh…have we met before?" he asked curiously.

"Hey, Goten!" cried Trunks from down below. "Is everything alright up there?"

Goten looked at Caroline and then at Trunks. He began to descend back down to the ground. "Everything's fine, Trunks. I think she's just a little shaken," he replied.

As they both got lower and lower, Caroline studied the numerous faces that were staring back at her. All them appeared to be cartoons as well, with their big eyes and flabbergasted expressions. Once Goten landed back on the sidewalk, he tried to help Caroline get on her feet. She wobbled a little, but managed to gain some of her balance once she put some of her weight on to Goten's arm. Trunks and Goten's date gathered around her to see if she was okay.

"Are you alright?" asked Trunks.

"Oh, you poor girl!" cried Goten's girlfriend. "I hope you're okay."

"Huh?" asked Caroline. She looked up to find another familiar face. It was Trunks. His lavender hair gave his identity away easily. She couldn't recognize the girl next to him, though. She stared wide-eyed with a blank expression. Trunks and Gohan's girlfriend stared back at her with the same look on their faces.

"Who are you?" asked Caroline as she pointed to the young woman.

"Oh, my name is May. It's nice to meet you," she said as she laid out her hand as a sign to Caroline that she wanted her to shake it.

Caroline, out of impulse, tried to be polite and shake May's hand, but has she laid her hand forward she looked in horror at what had happened to her hand. It had the same overall color of her skin before, but that's all that was there. Most of the details of her hand had been simplified. The only things that seemed clearly visible on her hand were her knuckles. She looked down at her clothes and feet to find that the same thing had happened throughout her body. She didn't even notice that she didn't have her shoes on.

She then moved her trembling fingers around her face. Her skin and hair felt normal, but there was something that didn't feel right about her eyes and nose. She them tried to find something to use as a mirror so she could look at her reflection. Luckily, there was a store with a big window display just a few steps away. She ran to the window and gasped in horror. Almost her entire face had completely changed. Like her hand, her features were simplified. Her eyes were larger and exaggerated to almost the shape of half an oval, with her eyelashes only sprouting from the far left and right of her eyelids. Her lips were replaced with just a simple line for her mouth and a little indented line to define her lower lip. Her hair was still the same color as before, but there were no frizz visible, not even any stragglers of hair could be seen. She then just stared at her new reflection for a moment. She again touched her face to prove that it was indeed hers, and when she realized that it was real, she screamed in horror.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! I'm…I'm a freaking cartoon!"

Caroline's scream caused Goten, May, and Trunks to step back a little out of surprise. Trunks could tell that something was very wrong, but he tried to calm her down as best as he could.

"Hey now, it's okay. You're going to be fine. If there's a problem maybe we can help you," said Trunks.

Caroline, still spastically grabbing her new face, looked at the group. Whatever had happened to her, she wanted to get as far away from these people as possible. Her head started to spin and she began to panic. She took a few steps back.

"Stay away from me! You understand? You-You can't be real, none of this can!" she yelled.

Caroline was beginning to draw attention to herself as some of the people passing by stared at her for all the commotion she was making. Trunks and Goten put their hands up in front of them to show her that they meant no harm.

"Just try to calm down, okay? We're not going to hurt you, we promise," said Trunks.

"Yeah, we just wanted to help," followed Goten.

"You want to help? Then stay from me!" cried Caroline. She then sprinted down the sidewalk, cutting through crowds of people. She tried to run as fast as she could. She hoped that this was all a terrible dream, and that she's wake up soon.

_"I have to get out of here! Wake up, Caroline! Wake up!"_ she screamed at herself in her mind.

"Stop!" said a rough voice. Caroline didn't stop, but she did turn her head as she continued to run to see who called to her. I definitely wasn't Goten or Trunks. As she looked behind her, she saw a tall man with a mane of black hair, wearing armor and a red piece of cloth tied around his forehead running after her. She knew who he was, but with what was all going on, her mind was too clouded to think straight. As she watched him pursue her, the man's expression went from serious to what seemed like fearful.

"Hey! Look out!" he yelled.

But it was too late. As soon Caroline had turned her head, her face was smashed into a tall, metal, light pole. Her legs buckled and then went limp as the pain erupting in her skull forced her to slip into unconsciousness. She quickly blacked out and fell flat on her back. A little blood slowly oozed from her nose. Trunks, Goten, and May ran up to Caroline and tried to wake her, but it was no use.

"Oh no, she's hurt! Should we take her to the hospital?" panicked May.

"No."

Everyone then turned to see Bardock standing a few feet away with his hands on his hips.

"Grandpa Bardock? What are you doing here?" asked his grandson.

"I need to ask that girl a few questions. But until she wakes up, I think it would be best if we take her down to Capsule Corp. She'll be taken care of there," replied Bardock.

"But…But Grandpa-," started Goten.

"No buts. Just do as I say," snapped Bardock. He didn't like having to repeat himself.

Goten obediently did as Bardock said and carefully lifted Caroline into his arms. Both he, Bardock, and Trunks then floated in to the air.

"Hey! What about me?" yelled May from down bellow in an angered tone.

Goten then stopped and looked down at his girlfriend with a sad look on his face.

"I'm sorry, May, but this seems kind of important. I'll call you." And with that, he flew off with the others. May stood there and gave off an irritated growl.

"Hpmh! Men," she said to herself.

As the three Saiyans soared through the sky, Goten tried to get some answers from his grandfather.

"Do you know where she came from, Grandpa?" he asked, looking at Caroline's face that now had a smear of blood running down her cheek.

"No, I don't," replied Bardock. "But maybe she can explain these things to us once she's awake." He then reached into one of his pockets and took out the autographed dragon ball that Caroline had recently won. "Including this," he said as he held it in front of him so the two younger boys could see. Both Trunks' and Goten's eyes widened.

"Grandpa…is that a dragon ball?" asked Goten.

Later on, after the three had gotten to Capsule Corp. Both Goten and Trunks had explained to Bulma and the Briefs what had happened, and Bardock had explained how he had gotten the dragon ball. Even though he saw Goten successfully catch the falling Caroline, something very hard had struck the top of Bardock's head. When the object rolled off his bruised skull, he noticed that it looked exactly like a dragon ball and caught it. The only thing that was odd about it was it had been written on in a language he didn't understand. He figured that since both the ball and the girl happened to be falling through the sky at the exact same time, them she must know something about it.

"And the damn thing gave me a bit of a headache too," said Bardock as he rubbed the part of his head where the dragon ball hit him. Normally, he could take a blow to the head easily, but when it's coming from a solid glass ball falling from thousands of feet, well, a human being would've gotten their skull shattered for sure.

Bulma examined the ball very closely with her glasses. It sure did look like the original four-stared dragon ball, but that couldn't be the case. After all, the dragon balls were all collected at Kami's Tower. Once Buu's terror had ended, the dragon balls were stashed away just in case of an emergency. How did a girl manage to get a hold of one?

"It's looks like the real deal, guys," said Bulma as she took off her glasses. "But weren't all the dragon balls taken to Kami's tower?" she asked.

"I thought we collected those things years ago," said Trunk.

"Yeah, I remember that. But why would she have one?" said Goten. By "she," he meant Caroline. "I highly doubt that she climbed her way all the way up to the top to get one," he continued.

"I don't think she did either, but all we can do now is wait," said Bardock. He leaned up against the laboratory's wall and crossed his arms.

"Don't you think she should be waking up by now? It's been a while since we brought her here," said Trunks with concern.

"Well, luckily she didn't get a concussion. But from what you all have told me, this poor girls been through a lot today. She needs some time to rest," assured Bulma.

Back in the other room, which technically was an upstairs living room. Caroline was laying on one of couches positioned around a glass coffee table. A white bandage was placed on the bridge of her nose to stop the bleeding. A cool, wet, towel was placed on top of her forehead to try and keep her now visible bruise from swelling. The throbbing pain caused from her injury slowly woke her up. As she opened her eyes, she was seeing double and couldn't really focus. Once her vision returned, she just stared at the ceiling. Then, all the memories flooded her brain. She bolted up from the couch, and the wet cloth fell from her head to the carpeted floor, revealing a gruesome-looking bruise right between her eyes. She then discovered that the jerked movement caused her head to hurt, a lot.

"Ooooow," she groaned as she place her palm on her aching forehead.

She looked around the room a little bit. It looked like your typical, modern, living room. There was a flat screen television that hung on the wall in front of her. There were pictures hung up on the other walls, some were paintings of landscape, others looked like family photos. In the center of the room was the rectangular, glass coffee table, with four glass coasters on top of it. On each side of the couch she was laying on, there was a large lounge chair, and next to the lounge chairs there was another little table. Each had a lamp and a few framed pictures set on them. She had to admit it was a nice room. It all looked a bit expensive, though. She then noticed that something heavy was weighing down the inside of her shirt. She unzipped her left shirt pocket and a smile came across her face.

The object in her pocket was her cell phone. She couldn't believe she still had it on her after everything that happened, but was happy to see it. It still seemed to work okay after she turned it on, but she then wanted to give something a try. She then typed in her father's cell phone number and then hit the "call" button. It rang a few times. With each ring she hoped she would eventually hear her father's voice on the other end. Unfortunately, the only thing she heard was an electronic voice that told her that her phone had no available service to make the call.

"Figures," grumbled Caroline as she slammed the phone down of the coffee table.

She wandered around the room and looked at some of the pictures. One photo in particular caught her attention. It was one that had a man and a woman, with the woman being fairly taller that the man, standing behind two children that looked very similar to the adults. Caroline then recognized the family in the picture, It was the Briefs family, with Bulma, her son Trunks, her daughter Bra, and…

"Vegeta," said Caroline out loud.

_"This is just too freaky,"_ thought Caroline as she stared at the photo.

"So, you know me as well," said a rough, arrogantly toned voice. It made the hair on the back of Caroline's neck stand up because she didn't have to turn around to figure out who it was.

The voice came from none other than Vegeta, the Prince of all Saiyans, who was leaning against one of the door frames. He had his never-fading frown on his face, and didn't look too pleased to have her there at his house and snooping around. When Caroline turned around to face him she was a bit surprised to find that he wasn't wearing his typical dark blue jumpsuit. Instead, he wore a black sleeveless shirt with light grey pants. The only articles of clothing that looked familiar were his white gloves and boots that he had on.

Caroline was a bit nervous. She was well aware of Vegeta's short fuse. She could tell from his expression that he immediately didn't like the looks of her, and this made her all the more gittery.

"Oh, hi there, Vegeta," she said with a shaky voice.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "And _how_ is it that you know my name?" he asked in an agitated tone.

Caroline didn't really know what to tell him. She knew he wouldn't believe for a second that she watched him on a cartoon show several years ago, let alone that she wasn't even from this world. She stared straight at his cold, black eyes and tried to mutter an excuse.

"Uh…uh…"was all she managed to say.

This didn't satisfy Vegeta at all. He then began to approach Caroline. She could tell that Vegeta knew she was afraid of him. Her new, expressive face probably gave it way. She then began to sweat a little, wondering what he was planning to do with her.

"Well, answer me, woman," said Vegeta. This time his voice showed that his patience was already running low.

"Uh…I…uh…" stuttered Caroline. She found herself backed up against the wall. Vegeta stopped just a few feet in front of her. Even though he was almost a full foot shorter than her, she was well aware of what he was capable of. She was beginning to question why she had named him as one of her favorite characters considering how scared she was of him.

"Are you going to answer me, or did that little bump to your head do more damage than expected?" Vegeta gave Caroline a cold glare, which he intended to break her silence with.

Caroline had nowhere to run. She was staring face to face with one of the most powerful people in the world, or at least the world she was in right now. She felt her hand and knees shaking. Suddenly her eyes rolled to the back of her head. She then leaned against the wall and appeared to have passed out again on the floor. Vegeta simply scoffed, picked her up and laid her back on the couch,

"Humans," he mumbled as he left through the same door he entered from. Caroline appeared to be fast sleep until the door was closed. A few seconds afterward, her eyes immediately opened. She felt a little dumb for pretending to faint to get Vegeta away, but it worked. Now she moved to her next plan of action, getting the heck out of there.

"Bulma, our 'guest' just had a little episode," said Vegeta as he entered the laboratory.

"Oh, really? I'll go check on her," said Bulma as she left the room.

"You didn't scare her, did you Vegeta?" questioned Bardock who could tell he had something to do with it.

"Nonsense, I was just checking on her. Until I caught her weaseling around that is," replied Vegeta. "Then she just fainted again."

"So she woke up then!" exclaimed Goten. "That's great! Now we can ask her about the—"

"She's gone!" cried Bulma as she ran to the door.

"Huh?" said the Z Warriors in unison.

They all ran to the room she was taken to only to find it completely empty.

"She couldn't have gotten far," assured Trunks,

"Hey, what's this?" asked Goten as he picked up Caroline's cell.

"Let me see that," said Bulma. She studied the device for a moment when it was handed to her. She had never seen anything like it before. She noticed the small button on the bottom of the screen and pushed it. The screen then turned on, showing the many different applications that Caroline had on it.

"Oh wow," exclaimed Bulma in awe of the device.

Caroline was now several blocks away from the Capsule Corp. building and continued running as fast as her legs could carry her. She didn't know how, but she somehow managed to find her way quickly out of the building. When she left the room, she found an elevator in the hallway, and went to the main floor. After that, all that she remembered was running. She didn't care where either. All she cared about was getting back home. She wanted her old body back, she wanted to see her family, she just wanted out of this place. She kept telling herself she was just dreaming, that she was still in her bedroom where everything made sense.

_"It's just a dream,"_ she told herself. "_This all has to be a dream. There's no way this is all real. I just have to wake up."_

She pushed her legs to run even faster. She was entering a busy part of town. She pushed her way through the crowds of people. She didn't care if it pissed any of them off. They were just a part of her dream. She ran down the sidewalks and to her right came an intersection, another sidewalk, and them a large stone bridge that led to a large park. Caroline then decided to head in that direction. She went through the road and almost got hit by a hover car. But Caroline didn't seem to care for the angry driver waving his fist and cursing her in the process, she just kept running. Suddenly, she found herself out of breath, and her chest began to hurt. She sat by a tree to rest and tried to catch her breath under the shade.

"Okay…" she began to talk to herself to try to calm down.

"Okay, try to keep your head, Caroline. You may have been sucked through a worm hole, fallen thousands of feet through the air, and are currently stuck in Toon Town, but the most important thing you can do right now is not panic."

She then searched through her shirt pockets, with the discovery that she had lost her cell. She then forgot all the advice she had just given herself.

"Oh crap, crap, Crap! I left my phone back at Capsule Corp.! Oh I'm never gonna get out of here," she whimpered.

"Wait! If this is all a dream, then maybe I just have to find a way to wake myself," figured Caroline. "But what usually wakes me up in a dream?" She rubbed her chin as she tried to remember some of the instances in her dreams that spurred her awake. Then one it hit her. Whenever she started to fall in her dreams, she would instantly wake up. However, when she was actually falling just a few short hours ago, nothing happened. But Caroline was getting desperate. She was willing to do just about anything in order to get out of this place.

She decided that the simplest way to do it was to climb up just a few feet, jump, and the shock of the fall should snap her out of it. She then climbed the tree nearest her and made her way up a few branches. She then positioned herself so that she would make a straight fall to the ground without hitting any branches. She knew that the fall wouldn't do any damage, just in case it didn't work. She still hesitated a little, until she finally got the courage to jump.

**_BAM!_**

"Ooowwww," she said in a groan. Her plan had failed, and now she felt absolutely stupid for coming up with it in the first place. She picked herself up and rubbed the shoulder, which she had landed on. Never in a dream had she felt any type of pain. Now, with her throbbing, bruised, forehead and her now bruising shoulder, she was beginning to accept her worst fear.

"Okay, maybe it's possible that it isn't a dream after all," she told herself.

"Is falling from stuff a habit of yours?" asked a voice.

Caroline froze and slowly turned her head towards the direction of the voice. It was the same man that she had seen right before she hit that good for nothing pole with her face. Without a doubt, it was Goku's very own father, Bardock. He was the heroic Saiyan who tried to stop Frieza all by himself, but ended up dying along with his home planet Vegeta. There was just one problem. He was _alive_, and floating right above her, looking at her with almost the exact same, piercing stare that Vegeta gave her back at Capsule Corp. There were a dozen questions that were racing through her mind at that moment, but all Caroline could do was utter that man's name in disbelief.

"Buh-_Bardock_?"


	3. Chapter 3: Explanations

Chapter 3: Explanations

"Buh-Bardock?" asked Caroline in disbelief.

Bardock raised an eyebrow. _"She knows me too. Who is this kid?"_ he thought to himself.

"How do you know of me?" he asked. Her unexplained knowledge of him and his family was beginning to agitate him. Even though a part of Caroline knew that Bardock was being serious, another part of her was leaping with excitement since one of her favorite fictional characters was literally hovering above her. The fan inside of her seemed to drown whatever fear she may have felt before.

"Well, who wouldn't know you? You're Bardock! You're the guy who tried to get back at Frieza all on your own," said Caroline with a smile. But that smile soon faded as her doubtful side kicked back in. It was true that Bardock tried to attack Frieza, but it was also true that it resulted in his death. She could still recall watching the scene in his film where Bardock was getting burned to death inside Frieza's humongous death ball that would later consume Planet Vegeta. It didn't make any sense. Why would he be alive? How could he have survived?

"Wait a minute? Aren't you supposed to be dead?" she asked without hesitation.

"Do I _look_ dead to you?" asked Bardock as he flew down to the ground.

"No, it's just that I…I saw you die. Frieza killed you a long time ago," said Caroline. She was afraid of how he would react to her answer.

Her mentioning Frieza puzzled Bardock all the more. "No, I'm very much alive. How do you know about me and my dealings with Frieza?" he asked again. This time, it was a demand.

"But how did you survive? I mean, it seemed pretty much impossible for anyone to—"

"I'll give you the information you want after you give _me_ the information that _I_ want. Fair enough?"

"Uh…sure."

"Well?"

"I just uh…know a lot about you," said Caroline nervously twiddling with her index fingers.

"How much do you know?" asked Bardock curiously.

Caroline paused for a minute. She wondered if it was a good idea to tell him every bit of information that she could remember of him. She then decided to just go for it.

With that, she retrieved every piece of her memory that involved Bardock and then put it all in chronological order. What she was about to say would be a mouth full, so she took in a deep breath to supply her lungs with the air needed for her to spill her information. She tried to keep her speech fast, yet consistent.

"You were born on Planet Vegeta. You had two sons named Raditz and Kakarot. You went on missions to other planets to conquer them for Frieza's empire. Your teammate's names were Fasha, Shugesh, Borgos, and Tora. On one of your missions, you all went to go conquer Planet Kanassa. There, you were given the gift of seeing the future by one of the survivors so you could see the destruction of your race. That's when you saw your first vision of your planet being destroyed and Kakarot growing up to be a fighter on Earth. Once you were fully recovered, you went to Planet Meat, only to find all of your friends except Tora killed by Dedoria and his men. Tora explained that Frieza killed them because he was scared of how strong you all were getting and then died in your arms. That's when you decided to rebel against Frieza. After fighting with Dedoria, you went to Planet Vegeta to bring up an army, but no one would listen to you so you decided to go fight Frieza by yourself. Once you were out there fighting, you managed to get through most of Frieza'a army, but then Frieza appeared out of his ship and threw a gigantic fireball at you and his own men. As you got caught in the blaze, you saw one last vision of your son opposing Frieza. Then you got vaporized in the fireball along with the rest of your planet!"

Caroline huffed trying to catch her breath. She was actually quite surprised that she managed to remember so much.

Bardock stood there in complete awe. Everything that she had said was true, except the part about him getting vaporized. She knew the names of his sons, his teammates, the events that lead up to his confrontation with Frieza, everything. How could she have known those things?

"Does that…huff…sound about right?" asked Caroline still catching her breath.

"Yes," said Bardock.

"And it's not just you. I know a lot about your son Goku, too," said Caroline. "He eventually _did_ go to Namek and fight Frieza, and that's where he became a Super Saiyan and—"

"Alright, that's enough!" yelled Bardock. Caroline covered her mouth with both of her hands in fear that she had said too much.

"I want to know right now how you know all this! About me, about my son, about everything! I also want to know how you even _got_ here in the first place. People don't just fall out of the sky for no good reason!" snapped Bardock. He wanted answers. Now.

"How do you know about that?" asked Caroline.

"I saw you falling in one of my visions. Those things don't come around very often, so this is considered very important," Bardock snapped again.

"You saw me in a vision? Wicked," exclaimed Caroline in excitement.

"Focus, kid. I'm in need of an answer." Bardock's patience was dwindling.

"You really wanna know?" asked Caroline.

"Yes, I do," replied Bardock impatiently.

"_Well, there's no use in trying to lie. Like I could come up with a believable excuse anyway,"_ thought Caroline

"Okay, I'll tell you. But you're probably not gonna like it," she said as she sat herself on the grass.

"You may want to sit down," said Caroline with a serious look on her face. Bardock saw this and was beginning to wonder if he really _wasn't_ going to like what he was about to hear. He then sat down on the grass also and crossed his legs.

"_Just tell the truth,"_ she told herself.

"Okay," she began. "I can't tell you how I got here because _I _don't even know how it happened, but I _can_ tell you why I know so much about you. You see, I'm…I'm not from around here."

"I already figured that," interrupted Bardock.

"No, I mean, I'm not from anywhere on this entire planet. I'm probably not even from anywhere in this entire universe! I come from a world where you, your son, Trunks, Goten, Vegeta…you know Vegeta, right?"

"Yes, I've known him for years," replied Bardock.

"Well, all those people, where _I'm_ from, are…are made up. They don't really exist. _You_ don't exist. You're all just a bunch of characters that were in books and even a cartoon series. In fact, you don't even appear in the series at all because you got killed by Frieza."

"I did?" asked Bardock in surprise.

"Yeah…sorry," said Caroline with the uttermost sincerity.

Bardock had to admit, out of all the things he had ever heard come out of a person's mouth, this had to be the strangest. He wasn't quite sure how to react to the "cartoon series" part, but he had seen them before on the television at his youngest son's house when his grandchildren were growing up, but he could never imagine himself as one.

"So what's the name of this world that you're from?" quizzed Bardock.

"Earth."

Bardock instantly raised a brow.

"I know, I know, it's the same name as this world's, but that's only because the series was based on Goku having his adventures on a slightly different version of _my_ world," continued Caroline.

"So my son survived well in your world?"

"Oh yeah, Goku did great! He saved it countless times."

"But none of it actually happened there, correct?"

"Exactly. In my world, we never have battles like that. No superpowers, no Saiyans, no intergalactic threats, no dragon balls, nothing."

The last bit of Caroline's sentence reminded Bardock of something.

"You know of the dragon balls?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" asked Caroline.

Bardock again reached into his pant pocket and took out the signed dragon ball he had gotten back from Bulma.

"Do you know where you got this?" he asked as he held the ball out in front of him.

"Oh yeah," said Caroline as she gazed at the ball with wide eyes. "Thought I lost that thing when I was falling."

"Well, I guess it was a good thing that it landed on my head then."

"Oh, sorry."

"So how did you get this?" Bardock asked again.

"I won it in a contest," replied Caroline innocently.

"A _contest_?"

"Yeah, I submitted an application to some magazine a few months ago and got it in the mail, and then…" she thought about something for a moment. Then her eyes grew wide. She then quickly stood up and pointed at the dragon ball. Bardock flinched a little bit and almost dropped it.

"It was that stupid ball that brought me here! I knew it! Why else would it glow like that?" she yelled as she gritted her teeth.

"The ball brought you here?" asked Bardock nervously.

"Yes! That stupid piece of glass pulled me into some wormhole and that's how I ended up there!"

"But how is that possible?" asked Bardock as he examined the ball closely.

"How the _heck_ should I know? One minute, I'm asleep in my bed back home, and then I wake up with some vortex in front of me and then the ball was glowing, and then I get sucked into this place!"

"Hmmm," hummed Bardock with a suspicious gaze at Caroline

"I don't believe it," he then said bluntly.

"But…But it's true, I swear," replied Caroline frantically.

"What you say doesn't make any sense. One dragon ball alone cannot be capable of such power as to pull someone from…wherever you're from. You need all seven in order for them to work," said Bardock.

"Well…" began Caroline. She had to get Bardock to believe her somehow, but what could convince him. Then, an idea struck her.

"Well, if you don't believe me, then read my mind."

"Huh? Read your mind?" repeated Bardock.

"Yeah, that Kanassan gave you psychic abilities, right? Didn't that include reading minds?" questioned Caroline.

"Yes, but are you sure you want me to do that?" Bardock asked with a little concern. It had been a while since he had ever had to read someone's mind. He wasn't sure what effect it would have on the girl.

"Sure, go ahead. I don't care. Heck, it actually sounds pretty cool," assured Caroline.

"Alright." Bardock then stood up and walked up to her. As he got closer, Caroline saw some signs of ageing on his face. If he _had_ survived all this time, he'd have to be in his_ seventies_ by now if he was around the age of twenty-five when Frieza tried to kill him. Luckily, Saiyans aged very slowly. He looked only to be maybe in his late thirties. Bardock stopped a few feet in front of her and raised his right hand in front of her bruised forehead.

"Just try to clear your mind for a minute and I'll do the rest," said Bardock.

"'Kay. But watch the bruise. It still hurts," warned Caroline.

Bardock nodded, placed his palm onto Caroline's forehead and closed his eyes. He then entered her mind. For Caroline, she felt nothing, except the awkward silence between the two of them. On Bardock's end, though, he was bombarded with almost every single memory Caroline possessed. It was like watching a movie in fast forward. Apparently, he had gone a bit farther than planned, but it allowed him to see bits and pieces of what her world looked like. It seemed vastly different from the world he knew. He saw her childhood, her family, her friends, even when she watched Dragon Ball Z as a child. In it, he saw his youngest son and the Z-Warriors fighting numerous foes that were quite familiar to him. For a quick moment, he even saw what appeared to be himself on a television screen. Then, in another flash, he saw Caroline's final memories before she was swallowed in to the vortex. He saw that the dragon ball was indeed glowing and that it was responsible for pulling her in. He then decided to stop, concluding that he had seen enough. He then opened his eyes and took his hand off Caroline's forehead. Caroline looked blankly at him, wondering what he had seen.

"Well, I'll be darned. Looks like you were telling the truth after all, Caroline," admitted Bardock who crossed his arms out of a little shame for doubting her.

"Oh, thank _God_! I was beginning to think you'd never—wait, you know my name?" asked Caroline.

Bardock didn't answer. He just gave her a confused expression, thinking she should have figured out the answer on her own by now.

After reading his face, something in her brain finally clicked. "Oh right, you read my mind," she said with a nervous smile. "So, you really do believe me?"

"I'd find it hard not to after what I've just seen," said Bardock with a shrug.

"Awesome! Now, you said you'd explain a few things after I did, right?" recalled Caroline.

"Yes, I did. What exactly do you want to know?"

"I guess the first thing would be which enemy tried to destroy the Earth last. Y'know, to see what time I'm in."

"The last threat we fought against was Majin Buu, but that happened well over a decade ago," replied Bardock.

"_A decade ago? That means I'm technically in to GT territory. But things here are...different."_ thought Caroline.

"Well, while reading my mind, then you probably noticed some significant differences regarding the story I've seen and all that's happened here. Am I right?"

Bardock nodded.

"Well, if it's not too much trouble…could you try to summarize everything that happened between your near-death experience with Frieza and now? I know it's an odd question, but this is all a little confusing for me. I'm just curious as to what happened."

Bardock didn't really know if he _could_ tell everything that had happened in that amount of time. He tried to remember the details as best as he could.

"It was a while ago, but I'll try my best," he said as he sat back down. He placed the dragon ball next to him. "You may want to sit also, it's a long story."

"Oh, I like long stories!" exclaimed Caroline as she plopped on the ground. She intended on finding every single change that occurred in this universe. She listened intently as he began.

"After barely surviving Frieza's attack, I was left in space dying. My body was discovered by a group of traveling aliens call the Beltadians. They retrieved me and kept me alive. They knew that Frieza had exterminated the Saiyan race, and figured I was a lone survivor. Unfortunately, I was put into a comatose sleep for fifteen years because my injuries were so sever. That and their medical technology wasn't that advanced.

"_Fifteen years?"_ thought Caroline.

"Once I finally awoke, the Beltadians explained that they rescued me and took me to their home planet, Beltada. They told me that Vegeta had been destroyed and that I was the only survivor that they found. They were also aware of Frieza's terrible reign. They wanted me to finish him before their planet was next to be conquered. I knew I couldn't face him alone, but I thought that maybe if my son, Kakarot, was still alive on Earth, then we'd have a chance to have our revenge. But the problem was that Beltada was many light years away from Earth. Thankfully, they let me use one of their ships to travel there, but even though it's speed was remarkably fast, I had to be put in a cryogenic sleep for five more years before I was even close to reaching the Earth. I awoke a few months before landing there so I could train and get some of my strength back. Once I finally landed, I discovered my son had turned into a young adult and had already had a family of his own. I practically begged him to join me to avenge the Saiyan race."

"Did you tell him you were his father?" interrupted Caroline.

"Yes, but he was extremely skeptical. Since he hit his head and lost his memory, he didn't recognize me at all. He told me that he needed some time to think before making the decision to go with me or not, so I gave him a few days and went off to continue my training far off in the wilderness. Oddly enough, in that same amount of time, my eldest son Raditz arrived to look for Kakarot. He arrived at Kame House when Kakarot was visiting his friends. He had made up his mind to come with me to stop Frieza's tyranny and stopped by to say his goodbyes. You probably know how things went down afterwards."

"You mean when Raditz discovered that Goku lost his memory and his tail and decided to kidnap Gohan in order to make him join the other Saiyans? Yep, I know. Then Goku teamed up with Piccolo to fight him," remembered Caroline.

"Well, that's mostly right. Since Raditz revealed himself to be his brother, Kakarot tried to explain that I was alive and that Frieza was responsible for the destruction of our planet, but my son didn't buy it. That's when he kidnapped Gohan and Kakarot and Piccolo went after him," explained Bardock.

"After getting pummeled by Raditz, Kakarot had to distract him so Piccolo could fire his Special Beam Cannon. Luckily I picked up their power levels with my scouter that I had built while on Beltada and headed straight for them. I wasn't far behind when Piccolo was about to fire his attack a second time, which was intended to kill both of them. I managed to get them out of the way to dodge the beam. In the midst of all the confusion, I tried to reason with Raditz to resign from Frieza, but again, he didn't believe it. He was too warped in his own blood thirst for reasoning. He tried to fight me, but I after a couple of tries, I injured him to the point that he completely passed out. Then Kakarot decided for us to take him back to Kame House to see what to do with him. Finally, I came up with a way to try to change his mind."

"Once he awoke I instructed for Kakarot to grasp his tail so he couldn't move or do anything to further damage the house. I then entered his mind and forced him to relive his memories, especially the ones where he killed innocents. While we both watched his memories, I tried to convince him that what he was doing was wrong, and that Frieza had lied to him. After taking the time for him to reflect on his past, he finally saw the error of his ways," said Bardock with a slight smile.

"So wait a minute, wait a minute! Raditz is here too?" said Caroline.

"Yes. He was a great help to his brother in defeating Frieza, Cell, and every other scmuck that came across this planet," commented Bardock.

_"I'll believe that when I see him. **If** I see him,"_ Caroline thought to herself. She didn't dwell on it for long before asking her nest question.

"So those two still came to Earth after overhearing about the dragon balls?" asked Caroline.

"Yes. We had about a year to prepare. Kakarot thought it would be a good idea for us to travel to Kami's Tower to see if Kami could do anything for us. Kami suggested that we go to Otherworld too see King Kai's and ask for special training. Raditz decided to go there with Kakarot, while I put my plans to get Frieza on hold and assisted the fighters here on Earth."

"And Gohan still became Piccolo's pupil?" asked Caroline.

"Yep."

Caroline processed Bardock's story so far. It seemed the only thing that was different was that Goku didn't get killed and that Raditz and Bardock were around. Then she remembered the moment right before he got taken to this place through the vortex. _"Could that have come true? Did the dragon ball somehow grant my wish and bring me here? No, it's impossible. Even if that ball was magical, you'd still need all seven to make a wish, and real magic doesn't exist in my world," _thought Caroline. She then asked Bardock something.

"So, in a nutshell you guys won against the Saiyans, right?"

"It was quite a battle. My boys were pretty impressive with what they learned from King Kai," said Bardock a little surprised that Caroline could recall that information.

"Did you still let Vegeta go after the fight?" asked Caroline.

"Yes, Kakarot thought it would be best if he'd be given a second chance, so we let him leave," replied Bardock.

"So after you guys healed up, you, your sons, Bulma, Krillin, and Gohan went to Namek to get their dragon balls to wish back everyone who died and to get back at Frieza, right?"

"Right, only I stayed behind with Kakarot."

"Why?"

"I wanted to prepare my son for what he was up against. I wanted to make sure that he knew that what he was dealing with was a complete monster and that he was ready to face him," replied Bardock.

"Oh...I see. So, how did you guys handle the Ginyu Force before fighting Frieza?" asked Caroline with a slight smile.

"They weren't too much trouble. Although, that Captain Ginyu made things a little difficult when tried to switch bodies with my sons. But we took care of him eventually," continued Bardock.

"So when Goku finally fought Frieza, he became a Super Saiyan?" asked Caroline with a little enthusiasm.

"That he did. He was the first in a millennia to do such a thing, but he wasn't the last. I too became a Super Saiyan that day!" said Bardock, pointing at himself with his thumb with a grin.

"Really? How?" said Caroline with excitement.

"During the battle, I got severely injured. All I could do was watch my son fight Frieza on his own. He tried to help me when he thought he had the chance but Frieza snuck up on him when he had his guard down. He blasted at my son with everything he had. As I saw him dying, my rage pushed me to become a Super Saiyan also. Kakarot and I then easily over powered Frieza and defeated him."

"You mean…you mean you guys _killed_ him?" puzzled Caroline.

"Was there any other rational alternative?" questioned Bardock.

"You didn't offer him a second chance before you…you know?"

"You sound like my son. He suggested the idea despite my argument, but he too realized that Frieza changing his ways was impossible. So, we ended him.

"Sadly, Namek was destroyed from the inside out because of Frieza. Thankfully, the Namekians and our group were taken back to Earth using their dragon balls. Kakarot and I landed on Planet Yardrat and the locals there taught us the technique of Instant Transmission. When we got back, Trunks arrived from the future to warn us of Dr. Gero's creations that would come to attack us in three years. So we trained endlessly. During that time, Raditz had already become a Super Saiyan when he fought a monster named Garlic Jr. and Gohan soon followed while training with his father. Then three years later, Androids 20 and 19 came."

"And then you fight them, Goku gets that heart virus and is taken away to get better, Vegeta becomes a Super Saiyan and defeats 19, then Gero flees to his lab and unleashes Androids 16, 17, and 18. Then, they turn on him and go terrorize some of the cities," added Caroline.

"Correct. How are you able to remember all that?" asked Bardock.

"I dunno. It just sort of got stuck in my head. It was something I was really into when I was little," admitted Caroline. Back home, not even her best friends really knew that she liked that kind of stuff. But still, it was nice to have someone marvel at her knowledge rather that judge her for it.

"Anyway…" she continued, "While Vegeta and the others handle the androids, the rest of you discover Cell, and then Cell goes on a quest to absorb Androids 17 and 18 to achieve his perfect form. He manages to absorb 17 and later gets to 18. "

"Yes, that was an extremely stupid move on Vegeta's part. He should've just destroyed Cell when he had the chance. But in the end, he got heavily battered. Trunks managed to hold him off until Cell decided to give us a few days to prepare for his ridiculous 'Cell Games."

"So Goku still sacrificed himself when Cell tried to self destruct?" asked Caroline.

"Well…not exactly. When Cell was preparing to explode, Kakarot suggested taking him far away from the Earth with his instant transmission, but Cell made it very difficult for him to even get near enough to use it. I was too weakened to do it myself. So, I volunteered distract him long enough for Kakarot to grab hold of him. While I was trying to get Cell's attention, he used his tail to try and strangle me, but it was just enough time for Kakarot to make his move. He hesitated, knowing I'd be taken with them, but I assured him that I'd rather die than let Cell destroy the Earth."

"You-you died along with Goku?" Caroline gasped.

"Well it was either that or the planet blew up. How were _we_ supposed to know that he would still be able to regenerate?" said Bardock, a little annoyed.

Caroline knew what she said hadn't been the best choice of words. She tried to make up for it. "I know. I guess there was no other way of handling it. None of us back home saw Cell's return coming either. So anyway…what happened next?"

"Once Kakarot an I were gone, Cell easily took care of the rest our group. Trunks, Vegeta and Raditz were the last to fall. All that was really left was my grandson, Gohan," said Bardock.

"Seeing as how Cell was responsible for my and his father's death, he wanted to find a way to avenge us. His powerful Kamehameha Wave, was strong enough to completely destroy Cell into oblivion," said Bardock with another smile.

"Later on, while Kakarot and I were in Otherworld, we had the option of returning back to life since none of us had died before, but Kakarot convinced me to go back to watch over our family and the Earth while he stayed behind to train. He figured that him being gone would be doing the world a favor since many of the villains we've faced were after him. As much as I didn't want my son to stay dead, I knew he'd be alright there in Otherworld and that we'd bring him back when he was ready. So I was brought back to life along with everyone else killed by Cell," said Bardock.

"Did Mr. Satan still take credit for killing Cell?" asked Caroline.

"Yes, and for some reason the whole world believed it," said Bardock. He then pointed his thumb towards the nearby metropolis, "They even named the whole city after him."

Caroline looked out to the city. Now that she wasn't panicing through it, she took the time to observe some of the tall, wide, and even circular-shaped buildings that stretched high in the sky. The sun was getting low and the sky was beginning to change into a more grayish blue and yellow, and the shadows from the taller buildings completely shaded most of the city. From memory, it really looked like the same as in the story.

"So that's Satan City, huh? It looks a lot like the cities I have back home, course where I'm from, there aren't many cities around where I live. There's just nothing but small towns and farms," said Caroline.

"So you live in the countryside?" asked Bardock.

"In the Mid-West, everything's considered countryside," said Caroline. Back in her hometown in Indiana, she could see miles of it whenever she drove to school. Her school, her hometown, her family, all of her memories of her world began to make her have that sick feeling again. She then she began to feel her eyes preparing some tears, but she pushed them back as best as she could. Bardock could see the strain in her eyes that were practically screaming that she was homesick, and decided to keep silent for a moment so Caroline could pull herself together. A minute later, Caroline looked back up at Bardock and asked him to continue so she could focus on something else.

"And what about you? Where did _you_ live?" asked Caroline.

"I've been staying at Kami's Tower since Cell's defeat. It came in handy since it had that Room of Spirit and Time. But during those seven years of peace, I spent some my time traveling around the world in between training. It gave me chance to see why Kakarot wanted to protect this planet so badly," explained Bardock.

"Then one day I get contacted by him saying that he was able to get a full day on Earth so he could go to an upcoming world martial arts tournament. He wanted Raditz and I to enter, but I never really cared for attractions like that. But since it was the only day that I got to see my son, I couldn't bring myself to refuse," he went on.

"Raditz and I entered, so did Piccolo, Vegeta, 18, Kakarot, Videl, and Gohan, only he was dressed in that ridiculous costume of his. I don't know what went through that kid's mind when he came up with the idea to become some caped crusader," said Bardock with slight irritation.

"Oh yeah! The 'Great Saiyaman'! But y'know, you sound a little hypocritical you wear battle armor as a casual form of dress," teased Caroline as she pointed at Bardock's green and blue Saiyan armor.

"This _is _casual where I'm from!" defended Bardock.

"Right, right," said Caroline with a giggle.

"Aaaanyway," went Bardock, "To start things off, Raditz fought against Eighteen and (sigh)…lost," said Bardock with his head lowered in shame.

"Really? How?" asked Caroline

"Eighteen threatened to castrate him if she lost, and that left him shocked long enough for her to knock him out of the ring," said Bardock with his head still lowered in embarrassment.

"I can picture Eighteen saying that," said Caroline.

"Kakarot thought the whole scene was hilarious," added Bardock.

"So who did _you_ fight?" Caroline asked.

"I fought a man named Yamu, who was later revealed to be one of the slaves of the sorcerer, _Babidi_." As Bardock said Babidi's name, his eyes narrowed in what seemed to be a deep anger.

"It was fairly clear from the beginning that they weren't normal. The "M's" on both of their foreheads should have given us a clue. Our fight got so intense that I had to change into a Super Saiyan in order to keep him from hurting the audience with his attacks. Then his partner appeared and tried to drain all of my energy. Once they fled, Kaioshin and Kibito, a Supreme Kai and his servant, who secretly entered into the tournament, restored most of my strength. That's when we learned Babidi and the demon, Dabura were devising a plan to awaken Majin Buu. We went to Babidi's hideout and we took care of his minions. Unfortunately, we were unaware that Dabura could turn people to stone with his spit. Raditz, Krillin, and Piccolo got caught in it. Once Babidi and Dabura escaped, we followed them into an underground chamber. There, we fought more of Babidi's servants, while Babidi tried to trick us using his magic."

"So…did Vegeta still allow his mind to be controlled by Babidi?" asked Caroline.

"Yes, but…" Bardock trailed off. He eyes again narrowed in anger as he curled his fists. This topic frustrated him greatly, and Caroline could easily see it.

"But…I was put under his spell as well," snarled Bardock.

"What? How? The only way Babidi could get control over someone was if they had evil in their heart. With Vegeta, it was a little easy considering he wanted to beat Goku because of that rivalry with him, but why you? You're a good guy," said Caroline in shock.

"I'm not entirely sure. I suppose he managed to find at least a hint of darkness that still resided in my heart before I rebelled from Frieza and amplified it to the point that I turned on everyone that I cared about," said Bardock as his gritted his teeth. "Vegeta's pride allowed himself to not become Babidi's puppet, but with me, I tried as hard as I possibly could to fight it, but I…I just submitted myself to him. I did whatever he told me to do. I saw what I was doing, but I couldn't stop it."

Caroline watched in horror as Bardock struggled to tell his story.

"That damned, over-sized flea of a monster made me fight my own family. I almost _killed_ Gohan when he tried to stop me from destroying Satan City. Kakarot had gone away to deal with Vegeta so he couldn't help. Once Majin Buu was awakened, he killed Dabura, which cured Raditz and the others that were turned to stone. Raditz saw what I was doing to Gohan and had no choice but to fight me. He held up his end well, until Babidi granted me enough power to change to Super Saiyan Three. Then, I almost beat my own son easily to death. Thankfully because of his reasoning, I was able to regain my sanity. I ended up fighting Buu soon after."

"Woah! You reached Super Saiyan Three?"

"Well, you'll have to remember that Kakarot was technically the first to reach it since he gained that power while training in Otherworld," corrected Bardock.

"Oh right. My memory must be a little rusty." she said with a little embarrassment.

"Well, even when at Super Saiyan Three, Buu still outmatched me. He then turned my son and I into candy, and consumed us. Luckily Gohan was rescued my Kaioshin and taken to his planet to unlock his hidden potential."

"So, then I'm guessing the battle between Vegeta and Goku happened the same? And Vegeta still sacrificed himself to stop Buu?" asked Caroline.

"Yes," said Bardock with a nod. "Of course you know it was a vain attempt. Buu still survived and then turned on Babidi."

"And in a short amount of time, Hercule befriended Buu and convinced him to be good, but it caused him to spit personalities. Then his evil side emerged and turned Buu into chocolate and ate him," said Caroline.

Bardock nodded.

"Yes, that devil went and killed every single human. If I, or one of my sons had been there, perhaps that could've been avoided. Kakarot's day was spent so he had to return to the Otherworld not long after Vegeta's death. He picked Raditz and I up at King Yemma's check-in station and took us to the Supreme Kai's planet with Gohan. There, we watched what was going on back on Earth. Down there, Gotenks tried his best to defeat Buu, but he eventually got himself absorbed, and then Piccolo," said Bardock with a little growl in his throat.

"Our last hope was Gohan, who had completed his training with Elder Kai, but even _that_ didn't seem to work considering how strong Buu had become," Bardock continued.

"Well, what about fusion with those special earrings?"

"The Kai's _did_ suggest using the fusion earrings, but since we were dead, none of us could go unless we were permitted by King Yemma. So, the Elder Kai offered to give his life to one of us. Both Raditz and I volunteered, but Kakarot thought would best if he went. Once he defeated Buu, then he could wish everyone killed by Buu with Shenron and they could wish _me_ back with Purunga when they got the chance. But once Kakarot got to Earth, he was supposed to fuse with Gohan, but it seemed that King Yemma had already sent Vegeta there to stop Buu."

"And then Goku and Vegeta fused after Gohan got absorbed!" exclaimed Caroline.

"Yes, that's right. They fused and became a man named Vegeto. He proved to be a strong opponent, but they still got eaten," said Bardock.

"But it all worked out considering that they were able to rescue those who got absorbed," assured Caroline. But then her expression changed from glad to uneasy. "But then again, everyone but Goku, Vegeta, Dende, and Mr. Hercule survived after Kid Buu destroyed the planet"

"Kakarot teleported the survivors back to the Kai Planet. But Buu wasn't far behind. We had to lure the sadistic little bastard away from the higher portion of Otherworld with our power levels so he wouldn't blow it to ruin. Once the Kai's and Dende were taken to safety on Namek, we had to finish Buu there once and for all."

Caroline knew this next battle would require her full attention.

"Since Kakarot and I were the most powerful, we decided to go first and go at him head on at Super Saiyan Three, but Buu was much more relentless than we anticipated. Even with our combined power, none of our attacks phased him. All he did was taunt us and run us both ragged. Long into the fight, we lost most of our energy. Kakarot found himself completely drained. He wasn't used to using the third Super Saiyan level in a living body. Vegeta and Raditz offered to buy some time while Kakarot attempted to get his strength back. Even with them at the peak of their power levels, they couldn't leave a scratch on Buu. As luck would have it, Mr. Satan bought us some more time by allowing the good Buu and the evil Buu to be separated and they clashed. Vegeta then came up with a plan to get Dende to use the Namekian dragon balls to wish the earth and all of the good-hearted people who were killed after the morning of the tournament to be brought back to life. Once that happened, Kakarot used their energy to create a colossal Spirit Bomb."

"Cooool," said Caroline in awe.

"The only problem was that when Vegeta tried to convince the people of Earth to lend Kakarot their energy to make the Spirit Bomb, no one believed him. Even _I_ tried to convince them. And to make matters worse, the evil Buu had figured out our plan. Raditz, Vegeta, and I tried to get him away from the bomb, but as much as I don't want to admit it, without Mr. Satan, we probably wouldn't have been able to collect enough power from the Earthlings. He was the one who finally convinced them. With the Spirit Bomb, Buu was wiped from the face of the Earth," said Bardock with a grin that looked just like one of Goku's. "After that, all order was restored and we have continued life in peace."

"So where's Goku now?" she asked in a bit of anticipation.

Bardock took a moment to answer. It had been years since he had seen his son and, in truth, didn't know where he was at the moment.

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I really don't know where he is. He left five years ago to train who he believed to be a boy who was Buu's pure incarnate. I think his name was Uub," said Bardock as he scratched his head. "It's suspicious, though. He should have given at least _one_ of us notice before leaving like that. I've tried to sense him, but sometimes I can feel him and other times I can't."

"Huh. That's weird. I was hoping maybe he could help me get out of here," said the disappointed Caroline.

Bardock finally stood up and tried to stretch the stiffness out of his legs from sitting for so long. He took another pause before he spoke again.

"I can understand that this all might seem strange to you, but trust me when I say that I'll do my best to try and help you return to your home world."

His words made a spark of hope hop through Caroline's heart. He reminded her of Goku so much it almost made her head hurt, or maybe it was just her bruise beginning to throb again.

"But there are still a few things that must be sorted out before that can happen. First of all, we need to figure out how this dragon ball got to your world in the first place and why it brought you here. "

"So what do we do?" asked Caroline, who was willing to do whatever it took it get home.

"The first thing we do is take you back to Capsule Corp. I'm sure the Briefs will let you stay there for the time being."

"I don't think that's a very good idea. I kinda spazzed out back there. They probably think I'm crazy by now. And I'm one hundred percent sure that they'll never believe my story like you did," said doubtful Caroline. She didn't want to go back there. She knew it would be awkward, and she _definitely_ knew that Vegeta wouldn't want her staying there.

Bardock then turned and faced Caroline with a grin. "Just show them how much you know, like you did with me. Once you explain everything, they'll believe you. I guarantee it."

"And you'll cover me if they don't?" she asked.

"If I have to. So, are you ready to head back?" asked Bardock.

"Are you…are you going to fly me there?" Caroline asked in disbelief.

"It would be quicker if we did. Why? Do you still feel a little edgy about heights after what happened earlier?"

"N-no. It's just—Wow! I'm actually going to fly!" said Caroline with excitement. "So, how do you want to do this?"

"I guess you can just climb on my back. Just remember to hold on tight," he cautioned.

Caroline then got onto Bardocks back piggyback style and wrapped her arms around his neck, while he held on to her legs. She could barley contain her excitement. It truly felt like a dream.

"_This is gonna be so cool! I bet I'd be making millions of people jealous by now if they could see this! This is probably one of the best moments of my—"_

Just as she was about to finish that last thought, Bardock zoomed into the skies towards the city. The sudden increase of velocity caught Caroline by complete surprise and she instantly squeezed her arms tightly around Bardock's neck with all she had in fear of falling off while letting out a loud yell out of freight that rang in Bardock's ears.

"Waaaaaahhh! Hey! Could you slow it down a little? Please?!" she yelled through the wind in her face.

"I'm not going _that _fast. Just hold on and we'll get there in no time," said Bardock as calmly as he possibly could.

"I'm begging you!" Caroline yelled.

"Do you want it to be nightfall before we get there?" questioned Bardock.

"Fine, just hurry!" agreed Caroline. She continued to hold on to him tightly and closed her eyes as she buried her head next to her shoulder to shield herself from the wind. It wasn't long before they reached the front doors of the Capsule Corp. building. Both Caroline and Bardock entered and made their way up a few floors through the elevator. They then went to the upper level laboratory where the gang was waiting for Bardock to return.

"Hey! Anyone home?" called Bardock from the hallway.

"Grandpa! You're finally back!" said Goten.

"Yep. And verything's under control," said Bardock as he placed his hand on his grandson's shoulder.

"So where's the little escape artist? Don't tell me you've spent all this time looking for her," scoffed Vegeta who was leaning in the far corner of the room with his arms crossed, as usual.

Bardock then turned behind him to Caroline with a smirk. "Actually, she wasn't hard to find. Her and I were just…discussing a few things, am I right?"

Everyone then looked behind Bardock to indeed find Caroline still standing by the doorway, as nervous as ever. She didn't like the fact that they were all staring at her with their odd, expressive faces.

"Why don't you introduce yourself?" encouraged Bardock.

Caroline feebly obeyed him and gradually stepped forward near the whole group. She gathered as much courage as she could to at least get her name out of the way.

"Hello. My name is Caroline, Caroline McBride. It's nice to meet you all. Oh, and I'm really sorry for how I behaved a while ago. I'll have to admit things were a little crazy for me, but I shouldn't of run off like that," she said sincerely.

Bulma and the others looked at each other for a moment, but then Trunks was the first to speak up.

"It's okay. It looked like you weren't exactly having a good day back there. Care to explain what happened?"

"I'd like an explanation also," came the gruff voice of Vegeta. "And it better be a good one. No one plays tricks on me and gets away with it."

Caroline knew that most of Vegeta's threat came mostly from his ego, so she had little to worry about. She _was_ worried about how they'd all react to what she was about to tell them. For a minute, she felt she could lie, but she then repressed the idea. How could she lie to these people? So within a few minutes, she told to them the same thing she had told Bardock about her world and how she got there.

"What?!" they all said in shock.

"I know it all sounds really, _really_ weird, but it's true. In my world, you're all just fictional characters. And for some reason that dragon ball somehow brought me here," she said.

"That's the most outrageous thing I've ever heard! I've seen people come from what some would consider another dimension, but do you honestly expect me to believe that ludicrous nonsense?" said Vegeta with great annoyance.

"But it's all true, Vegeta. I-I can prove it. I know practically everything about you guys. I got to learn about you all through the show," Caroline then said trying to defend herself, but then regretted her statement thinking that Vegeta would probably tell her to recall something that was never shown in any DBZ-related show.

"Well then, tell me something that only I would know. If what you say is true, than this will be easy," said Vegeta with a devious smirk.

"Uh-Uh…" she tried to randomly search through her head of any possible memory that could be of use to her. Then, she had one.

"Well, there are some obvious differences between this universe of yours and the one that I grew up watching, but I think this one'll still apply. A few years back, when you and Goku were fused together with the Kai's earrings, you got eaten by Majin Buu, and then got separated. As I recall, you two had quite a little adventure down in the depths of Buu's stomach. One of which was when you two came across two large intestinal _worms_," said Caroline with a smug grin. She could tell she was right by the growing fear in Vegeta's eyes by the last word in her sentence.

"Ha, Ha! The look on your face was absolutely hid behind Goku like a scared little kid," said Caroline.

Everyone then looked at Vegeta to see if she was telling the truth. It seemed out of the question. However, Vegeta seemed to be extremely shocked.

"How…do you know about that?" he asked angrily. Everyone gasped that Vegeta would admit to something like that.

"Like I said, I saw it, all on my T.V., along with millions of other people," replied Caroline, still holding that smug grin knowing that she had proven herself.

"W-what? Others saw that? _Millions_?" Vegeta stammered.

"Dad? Is that true?" asked Trunks nervously.

"It doesn't matter!" yelled Vegeta, trying to literally shake the embarrassment out of his head. "What matters is that this girl is some sort of mind reader or a spy! I don't trust her. Her story of how she ended up here doesn't make a bit of sense!"

"But the ball really _did_ bring me here! How many times do I have to say it? Wait, speaking of mind readers, _Bardock_ read my mind to see if I was telling the truth. He saw the whole thing through my memories. Tell 'em Bardock!" stated Caroline with

confidence as she looked to Bardock for support.

Bardock sighed. "She's telling the truth, guys. In her memories, the ball did take her here. The rest of what she says is true also, regarding all of us..."

"Yeah. The only difference is that Bardock got killed off a _looong_ time ago in my world," added Caroline.

"You don't have to be so blunt about it," whispered Bardock.

"Well that's all fine and dandy…" interrupted Vegeta, still fuming from recently being humiliated, "but why is it that _I'm_ the only one who thinks she should be sent back to wherever the hell she came from this instant? I sense nothing but trouble from her."

"Oh relax. She looks alright to me," said Bulma calmly. She then walked up to Caroline and looked at her forehead and gave a look of pity.

"Oh my! You poor thing. That bruise looks hateful," she said placing her hand on top of Caroline's head.

"I was hoping if it would be alright if she could stay here for a few days. At least until we know how we can get her back," said Bardock to Bulma as she continued to survey Caroline's injury.

"It's fine with me. We've got plenty of room for her," replied Bulma.

"Woman! Have you lost you're mind? You think it's smart to let some complete stranger stay in our house?" demanded Vegeta.

"Oh hush! She's no stranger, she's just a kid. In fact, she seems to know a lot more about us than we thought," said Bulma, scolding her husband.

"That's exactly what worries me!" Vegeta relpied.

"Well, if Bardock trusts her, than that's good enough for me. Come with me, honey. I'll get your room ready," said Bulma kindly. She then nudged Caroline out of the laboratory door and led her into the hallway. Caroline was relieved. Things had gone a lot better than she had planned, and now, she was staying at Capsule Corp. She wasn't sure how to feel about that just yet.

"Bye, everyone. Bye Bardock," said Caroline as she left the room.

"If that girl causes one ounce of trouble…" threatened Vegeta.

"Please. She's about as dangerous as your father-in-law's cat," assured Bardock. He then walked towards the door, taking his leave.

"Goten, it's getting late. Let's get you home," he then said."Uh…sure. Mom's probably expecting us home soon anyway. See you later Trunks. Have fun with your new guest," he said as he and Bardock left the room.

All that were left in the laboratory were Trunks and his father.

"So Dad," he began with a nervous smile and a little hesitation, "any chance you could tell me more of that story about the wor—"

"Shut up!"

Bardock and Goten exited the building and flew off away from the city in the night sky. Goten kept looking at his grandfather. What had those two been talking about all that time?

"So, you really do believe her, Grandpa?" asked Goten.

"Yes, I do. I saw what her world looked like while reading her mind, and it all looked very peculiar. Regardless, she's telling the truth," he replied.

"So what do we do now?"

"For now, you might as well inform your mother, brother and uncle of the situation. As for me, I've got this feeling in my gut that Kakarot knows something about this. He might know what to do."

"You're going to go look for him? I thought you said that you haven't been able to sense him in a while."

"I know, but he has to be around here somewhere, unless he's dead, which I doubt."

Bardock then elevated himself a little higher and stood mid air in the sky to face Goten.

"Once I return, with your father or without him, we'll then head to Kami's Tower to see if Dende will know anything about the dragon ball. Take care." With that, he disappeared. Goten stayed there for a minute, confused and concerned.

"_I hope you find him,"_ Goten thought to himself. He then continued his flight home.

Caroline gently laid herself on her new, hopefully temporary, bed. Earlier, Bulma had shown her the new room she would be staying in and gave her a quick tour of the "house" portion of the building so she wouldn't get lost. While doing so, she returned Caroline's phone to her, and told her how dazzled she was by the technology involved. Caroline tried to see if Bulma had ever heard of the company that made products like her cell, but she found that Bulma had never heard of such a thing. Bulma then left her alone to get settled in.

But looking back now, these past few hours where hard. In just one day she had been taken away from her home and had been brought to a place that was supposedly spawned out of pure fiction. This wasn't the case. Everything felt real. She had met people that were either dead or imaginary, or both. Either way, she was stuck there, and there wasn't a thing anyone could currently do to help her. She somehow just had to make due until Bardock could come up with a solution.

Her mind then went numb for a while as she stared at the ceiling fan making it's continuous spinning. She again thought of her mother, father, sister, and brother. What if she was never going to see them again? She continued to lie there, silently sobbing until finally the exhaustion from the day she had allowed herself to fall asleep.

**AN: Dang, that took a while! Like I said, I'm planning on doing longer chapters, but probably not THIS long. Still, I felt it was needed. I hope you all liked chapter 3. Stay tuned for chapter 4!**


	4. Chapter 4: Settling In

Chapter 4: Settling In

After a long night of dreamless sleep, Caroline slowly woke up to the bright rays of sunlight from outside that escaped through the blinds in the window. At first, she had completely forgotten what had happened to her yesterday. Her subconscious told her that it was all just an unbelievable dream. She pulled the covers from her body, then groaned and rubbed her eyes. With them closed, everything felt normal. The bed she was laying in a normal bed, her face and skin felt normal, and she could even hear birds from the window. Everything felt as it should be, until she opened her eyes.

When she gained focus, everything came back to her. She wasn't home in her bed, this wasn't her room, and what she felt wasn't her old body. She glanced at the small, black, digital clock on the lamp table beside her bed. It said it was 9:54 a.m. She then sat up from the bed and walked to the bathroom in her room. Once she turned on the lights, she again saw what she called her new "toonified" face staring back at her in the mirror, with those big, expressive eyes. She also saw the black and blue bruise placed in the center of her forehead that still hurt when she tried to touch it. This time when she saw her face, she didn't scream, she just studied herself. She didn't know whether to be freaked out or to laugh at herself.

"This isn't so bad. It could be worse," she said to increase her optimism.

She then left the bathroom and entered back into her room. She then noticed on the dresser that there was a small pile of clothes with a note on the top. She picked up the note and read it.

_**Good morning! Hope you had a good night's rest. I figured you could use a new set of clothes for the time being, especially some new shoes. You looked like a size ten. If they don't fit, just let me know. You can put your old clothes down the shoot that's on the far side of the room. If you need anything else please don't hesitate to ask. After all, you are our guest.**_

_**~Bulma**_

Caroline smiled at Bulma's kindness towards her, and was surprised that she guessed the correct shoe size. But then again, Bulma was a very smart woman. She then looked down at the clothes. What she found was a white T-shirt with a black Capsule Corp. logo on the front. _"Figures,_" she thought. She then unfolded a pair of black shorts that stretched down to her kneecaps. The shoes that Bulma were referring to were placed on the far side of the dresser. In truth, they were actually more like boots. They had the same odd style that everyone else seemed to wear around there. They were a dark grey color, with an even darker shade on the ends of the boot. She then glanced down at the clothes she was currently wearing, which she admitted weren't very fresh. So, she changed her clothes, and tried on the boots. They were a perfect fit, which made Caroline smile a little. Suddenly, she heard her stomach grumble.

"_Uh-oh. When was the last time I ate anything?" _she asked herself in her head. Caroline slowly opened her room door and quietly walked down the hallway, trying to remember where Bulma told her the kitchen was. She continued down the hallway, made a right turn, went passed two doors and finally found the kitchen. She looked in awe at how large it was. It looked like a very modern set up of polished white cabinets with a tiled wall by the sink. It also contained a large black stove and an oven made of stainless steel. Beside the kitchen was a door that led to an even larger dining room with a sliding glass door that led to the back balcony. She was surprised to find Bulma searching around the large, steel refrigerator. Caroline didn't know whether to say something to her or not. But before she could decide, Bulma popped her head out of the refrigerator door and instantly saw her.

"Oh, good morning! You almost scared me. Did you sleep well?" she asked as she took some food from the fridge.

"Yes, I did. Thanks," muttered Caroline.

"How's that bruise?"

"It still hurts a little, but I'm okay."

"I noticed you've changed your clothes. How do you like the shoes? Did they fit?"

"Yes, they're a perfect fit. How did you know I was a size ten?" asked Caroline curiously.

"Oh, I can just tell. It's a sixth sense of mine," Bulma replied while getting a pan from a bottom cabinet. "So, do you want some breakfast? You must be starving."

"Oh, um…sure if it's no trouble," said Caroline, trying to keep her stomach from growling.

"Oh not at all! I was just about to make something for the family. How do you feel about scrambled eggs and ham?" said Bulma as she turned the stove on.

"Scrambled eggs?" repeated Caroline.

"Yeah. Don't you have that stuff for breakfast where you're from?" asked Bulma with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, but…yeah, scrambled eggs sounds great," replied Caroline.

"Have a seat," said Bulma directing with her hand to one of the seats for the island table. "It'll be ready in no time."

"Thank you," said Caroline as she sat down on the backless seat. She then saw Bulma working away with the eggs and meat.

"Oh it's no problem. When you live with a bunch of hungry Saiyans, you have to cook all the time," she said as she stirred the eggs.

"So where is everyone?"

"Oh, asleep probably. The only one who's been up other than myself is Vegeta. He's in the gravity room, training. I apologize for how he treated you yesterday. Sometimes he's just so…argh, he just doesn't know how to behave himself!" said Bulma angrily and she poured the eggs into the pan.

"Oh, it's okay," said Caroline.

Trunks then made his way into the kitchen with a big yawn. He didn't even notice that Caroline was in the room.

"Morning, Mom. Morning—Oh, it's you!" he said as Caroline caught his eye.

"Hi, Trunks," said Carline shyly.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked nicely.

"Yeah, I did, thanks. And you?" asked Caroline.

"Good, thanks. So what's for breakfast, Mom?"

"Scrambled eggs and fried ham. It's almost ready," replied his mother.

He was about to sit down when a set of footsteps were heard down the hallway. The source of the footsteps was soon to be revealed as the fatigued Vegeta, who had just finished a quick training session in the gravity room. As soon as his eyes met with Caroline's, he tensed up and stopped in his tracks.

"Hey, Dad! Ready for breakfast?" asked Trunks.

"Grrrr," growled Vegeta. He then turned around, left the room, and stormed further down the hallway.

"I guess he's still a little peeved from yesterday," said Bulma, slicing the ham.

"I've been meaning to ask…" said Trunks, "If what you said about Dad and Goku is true, how were you able to see what was going on in Majin Buu's stomach?'

"Oh, I was able to see it on my television," replied Caroline.

"So, we really are in a cartoon where you're from?" asked Trunks.

"Yep."

"Wow. That sounds wild," said Trunks. "I can imagine this all must be a bit scary for you then."

"Well, it's not so bad," replied Caroline. "At least you guys are here. It's really nice of you all to let me stay here for a while."

"Like I said, it's no trouble. We just want to make sure you get back home safely. Your parents must be worried sick," said Bulma.

She then took a spatula and scooped up some eggs and slices of ham from the pan and put them on two plates. She then slid them to Caroline and Trunks. Before Caroline could even move, Trunks was already gobbling it down.

"So Caroline could you tell us a little bit about where you live? Like your hometown?"

"Well, I live in a place called Indiana. It's in the Mid-West of the United States."

"Huh?" said Bulma.

"United what?" asked Trunks.

"Y'know, United States of America? It's the country that I'm from," said Caroline,

"I never heard of anywhere like that," said Trunks. "But I guess that's to be expected."

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" asked Bulma.

"I have a younger sister who's twelve and a baby brother. He'll be turning four in a few months," replied Caroline, trying her best to repress the memories as best as she could so she wouldn't risk getting worked up.

"Oh, really? Cool! My little sister's around the same age as yours," said Trunks with enthusiasm.

"So what's it like over there?" asked Bulma.

"Well, it's kind of like here, only the buildings look a little different, and we have no hover cars, or some of the other high-tech stuff you have here," replied Caroline.

"Really? Oh, that reminds me…can I take a look at the cell phone you have? I've never seen anything like it before. Could you show me how to use it? It looks really interesting," said Bulma.

"Sure. It's really easy to use. All you have to do is—" began Caroline, when a young voice interrupted her.

"Mooooom. I'm hungry," said a young girl with her blue hair in a ponytail, the same blue color as Bulma's. She sluggishly stepped into the kitchen. She seemed to be the same height as Caroline's sister, and she was still wearing a pair of red and white poka-dotted pajamas.

"Good Morning, Bra. Now don't be rude, say hello to our new guest. Her name is Caroline. She's going to be staying with us for a while," said Bulma.

Caroline looked at Bra for a moment. The last time she saw her, she was a headstrong teenager in a caddy red outfit, but here, she was still a kid.

"Oh, hi," said Bra with little interest. "What's for breakfast?"

DING-DOOOONG!

Everyone lifted their heads to the sound of what Caroline guessed was the doorbell.

"I'll get it!" said Trunks as he ran down the hall.

"I wonder who that could be? Maybe it's Bardock," said Bulma.

Caroline felt a little excited to see Bardock again. It was safe to say that he was the first real friend that she made in her short time here. Hopefully he had come to tell her that he had already come up with a plan to get her home.

To her surprise, and disappointment, it wasn't Bardock who entered the room. It was Gohan, who was nicely dressed in a grey-blue suit. Once Caroline and Gohan saw each other, like Vegeta, Gohan stopped and looked at her with a wide-eyed expression.

"Well hello there, Gohan! Shouldn't you be at the university by now?" asked Bulma.

"I don't have to be there for another hour. Goten explained to me what happened yesterday and…" he pointed his finger at Caroline, "…and I'm guessing you're the girl named Caroline."

"Yes, that's me," Caroline answered.

Gohan then stepped forward to Caroline and stuck out his right hand. "It's nice to meet you, then. I'm Gohan Son, but I suppose you already knew that."

Caroline meagerly grasped his hand and shook it. "Yes, but it's still great to meet you in person."

"So what brings you here, Gohan?" asked Bulma.

"Well, after what Goten told me I…" he paused for a second and looked at Caroline, "I just had to see for myself."

"Where's Bardock?" asked Caroline.

"Apparently he went off to go find Dad to see if he could help out with this…situation."

"Bardock's gone?" asked Caroline in complete disappointment.

"For now, but he'll be back. And hopefully he'll bring my dad too," assured Gohan.

As Gohan was saying this, Trunks walked back into the room, but he was talking with someone. That someone was a tall, muscular man with long, spiky black hair that went all the way down to the back of his legs. If Caroline knew any better, which she did, she would've assumed he was none other than…

"Raditz!" exclaimed Caroline with her wide eyes gazing at the longhaired Saiyan.

"Huh?" said everyone else in unison. Raditz looked at Caroline with a confused and almost terrified expression.

"Uh…hello?" was all he managed to say.

"I take it my grandfather didn't tell you about my uncle," said Gohan.

"No, he did, it's just…" she then hopped off her seat and walked up to Raditz to get a better view of him. If anything, he had a cheerier demeanor, which reminded her a lot of Goku. He still had Bardock's eyes, but all it did was prove that the three of them were definitely related. He was wearing the same type of martial arts clothing as his brother's. His undershirt was a similar dark blue, but the outer shirt and pants were brown, just like on his old armor. He even had dark blue and white fingerless gloves of the same Saiyan design. He also wore a red sweatband around his left bicep. As she got just a few feet in front of him, she could almost see the purity in his eyes, even though they were a bit downsized out of his slight nervousness. This took away any fear she had contained of him. She was now more than ever willing to befriend him. She then stretched out her hand and gave a sincere smile.

"Hi there, Raditz! I'm Caroline. Bardock told me a lot about you," she said eagerly.

Raditz just stood there for a minute in confusion over her sudden friendliness towards him. But when she mentioned the name of his father, he eased up. He then lifted his own hand and he and Caroline shook hands.

"It's a pleasure. But I thought you already knew a great deal about me. What did my father have to tell you?" he asked.

"Oh, well it's sort of hard to explain. You see, in my world…Goten told about the whole cartoon thing, right?

"Yes," answered Raditz

"Well, in my world…um…remember all those years ago when you first came to Earth and…you know what? It's not really important," said Caroline nervously. She'd have to save that story for another day. However, Raditz wanted to hear more.

"Really? But what happen—" he was saying until Gohan cut him off.

"Actually, I was hoping if you wouldn't mind answering a few questions," he said.

"Like what?" asked Caroline.

"Like what happened before the dragon ball brought you here. Do you know exactly where the ball came from?"

"It came as a prize from sort of magazine called 'Manga Cental."

"Manga Central?" repeated Gohan.

"Yeah, it's a magazine that sells…comic books. I got a custom made ball from them based on the show. And it somehow got me here," explained Caroline.

"And what's the last thing you remember doing before coming here?" Gohan then asked.

"Nothing. I was just in my room and-I mean, I just made a little wish on it, but only out of fun! I swear, I had _no idea_ that it would take me here!" Caroline blurted.

"A wish?" questioned Gohan.

"Yeah. But I swear, I had _no idea_ that it would do anything!" Caroline blurted.

"Well, that's odd. Nothing like this has ever happened before, especially with just one dragon ball. How could it have gotten to your world?" questioned Gohan.

"Bulma, do you still have the ball?" asked Raditz.

"No, last time I checked, Bardock still had it," replied Bulma.

"He must've taken it with him!" suspected Trunks.

"Well, then I guess we shouldn't do anything until he returns with Dad," said Gohan. "In that case, I should be getting back to campus to prepare for the lecture. It was nice to meet you, Caroline. I'll drop by again soon so we can talk some more. And don't worry. My grandfather won't let you down, whatever he's up to. Bye, everyone." He then waved and took his leave. His uncle soon followed him afterwards, after taking a quick glance at Caroline.

"I'll see you all later. And Caroline, it was good to meet you. And I'll be looking forward to the rest of that story sometime." With that, he left the room.

"O-okay then," she said nervously. She hoped he would forget about it. Soon.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Bra.

"I'll explain it to you later, hun. Just eat your breakfast," said Bulma.

"So Gohan teaches at a college?" asked Caroline

"Yes. He's been teaching there for about two years now. In fact, he's one of Goten's professors," answered Bulma.

"So Goten's in college…cool," mumbled Caroline.

"I know! Chi Chi must be so proud of those boys. I see a bright future for both of them," said Bulma.

"And what about you, Trunks? Are you going to college?" asked Caroline.

"Well, sort of. I guess you could say it's more like an apprenticeship. My mom wants me to take over the Capsule Corporation some day. I've been learning how most of the job works from her," he answered.

"If he wasn't so lazy about it, that day would come much sooner," remarked his mother.

"But mom, I'm willing to learn, but can I at least _try_ to enjoy my youth a little bit before that happens?"

"I know you want to have fun, but you're getting too old to be so laid back. You have to understand now more than ever how to provide for yourself and for your own family someday," scolded Bulma. She was being very serious.

The conversation brought Caroline back to when she herself had to face facts about getting older and how to provide for herself. She had an understanding of how Trunks felt. She knew that he wasn't too happy about running his entire family business, but he felt it was his duty to do so. In Caroline's case, she didn't have a clue what to do, and the thought of her having a little more than a year to decide before graduating scared her.

"So Caroline, if you don't mind my asking, what was that story you were going to tell Raditz about. You seemed a little hesitant about it," he said.

Caroline turned to see both Trunks and Bulma looking back at her. She wondered if it was a good idea to tell them. After all, here Raditz was practically a member of the family to these people. They didn't view him as a murderous warrior anymore like they did back home.

"If I tell you guys, will you promise not to tell anyone else for a while, especially Raditz?"

"But why?" asked Trunks.

"I don't think he'd handle it very well. I'd like to be the one to tell him if I really have to," said Caroline.

"Okay, so what happened? You said it was when he first came to Earth, right? Then that means I, Master Roshi, Krillin, and Oolong were at Kame House with Goku. That's where we met Gohan for the first time. Goodness, that was a long time ago!"

said Bulma, feeling old.

"Yeah, and Raditz came to the house looking for Goku so he could convince him to join with Vegeta and Nappa, but Goku refused so Raditz kidnapped Gohan. Then Piccolo shows up and teams up with Goku to rescue him. And then they fight Raditz…" Caroline added.

"But then Bardock comes to stop them," said Bulma.

"Well, that's not what happened for me," said Caroline with sadness.

"No? What happened then?" Bulma asked.

"Well, in the show Bardock dies about twenty years before that all happened, so he wasn't there to stop the fighting. So when Piccolo had to use that Special Beam Cannon while Goku had hold of Raditz…he ended up killing both of them with it," said Caroline.

"What?" screamed both Bulma and Trunks.

"They both died?" said Bulma.

"Did Goku still go to King Kai's afterwards?" asked Trunks.

"Yes, he did."

"What about Raditz?" he then asked.

"Well…" began Caroline.

Bulma already knew the answer to that question, but couldn't bear to think of one of her friends going the place where all terrible people went when they died.

"He went to Hell, didn't he," assumed Bulma.

"Sorry…" said Caroline innocently.

"I can't believe it. I never thought that Goku would sacrifice himself like that, and take his own brother with him," said Trunks with disbelief. "So were you ever able to see Raditz again?"

"Nope, that was the only time I ever saw him," said Caroline.

"Oh, man. I can see why you didn't want to tell him. He's not going to like this at all," said Trunks with dread.

"Hopefully he'll never have to know. Why _should_ he know what happened to him in my world? It'll just freak him out. So, if you can, please don't bring this up to him," begged Caroline. She really thought it would the best thing to do, for Raditz's sake.

"I don't know. He seemed pretty eager to hear what you had to say," said Trunks.

"I'm hoping he'll just forget about it," said Caroline.

Unknown to the three of them, a tall figure with a flowing white cape with long, pointed shoulder pads was standing on the very tip of the Capsule Corp. building. It was Piccolo, overhearing the entire conversation.

"Hmph," was the only reaction he could produce from Caroline's story.

"_So that attack would've killed them both after all. From what Bardock has told me, the overall outcome of events seem remotely the same compared to the kid's story. But how does he think that Goku is behind her being here? And what's even more strange, is how would he be able to send one of the dragon balls to that kid's dimension? Dende wasn't even aware that one of them had been taken. All of the balls are still there at the tower, Whatever Bardock thinks is going on can't be true. There must be something about that one dragon ball that he has with him. It can't be one of our seven. For all we know, it could be a product of something sinister. Perhaps I should discuss this with Bardock before he goes too far off to in his search," _thought Piccolo.

He took a moment to search for Bardock's engery. Once he found it, barely, his eyes widened and within a split second he disappeared from the roof.

Somewhere, far off on the other side of the world, in a area littered with large rocky canyons, a harsh gust of wind blew some dust from the dry ground into a swirling brown tornado that rolled across a piece of flat ground until it rolled off the side of a cliff and spiraled into nothing. On a plateau parallel to the cliff, stood Bardock with an intense frown on his face.

"Grrr. Where are you, Kakarot?" he asked the empty skies.

In an act of frustration, he swiftly punched a nearby large boulder with all his strength. The chunk of rock that was once twice his size crumbled with a powerful roar and was soon reduced to rubble. He looked at the pile of rocks as he tried to control himself. However the idea that his son, even though he probably meant well, completely vanished without much of a trace with the young village boy, filled him with worry, confusion, and irritation. One would think he'd be used to these periods of Goku leaving for years at a time training, but in reality, he thought is was an unorthodox thing to do. This time, Bardock felt with an almost intense feeling in the pit of his stomach that Goku had something to do with Caroline being here, but he just couldn't find him. He couldn't sense him anywhere. The idea that he could have died seemed out of the question to him, but always possible, and that only increased Bardock's anxiety.

"This is really staring to piss me off! I've searched through every corner of this planet, and I don't want to look through the entire galaxy to find you! Where did you go, Kakarot?" he shouted to the sky, hoping that somehow his son could hear it.

"I'd like to find that out myself," said Piccolo, who had been observing Bardock's struggle for a few minutes about a few hundred feet behind him.

"Piccolo," gasped Bardock in surprise. In the midst of his anger, he was too distracted to sense his presence. He knew he had to cool his temper, so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He paused to collect his thoughts.

"I suppose you haven't been able find them either, have you," said Bardock as a statement, not a question.

"No, I haven't, but I wouldn't assume the worse just yet," said Piccolo as he looked at the numerous canyons below him. "It's possible he could be training somewhere in Otherworld, the Kai's planet, or some other astral plane."

"But why would he go there? Surely it wouldn't be for the boy's benefit. He's just a kid. Just how much intense training does my son want him to get?" asked Bardock.

"No clue. But I was hoping you wouldn't mind me borrowing that dragon ball that you got from the girl. I think that maybe Mr. Popo should have a look at it."

Bardock then took the ball from his pocket and held it out in front of it.

"So it's not one of ours?"

"They're all there at the lookout. That means that this is a dragon ball of someone else's design," answered Piccolo. "Perhaps it was created by some unknown force from the girl's home dimension."

"That's unlikely. The magical forces that we have here are nonexistent where she's from. She assumed that it was a fake," said Bardock as he handed Piccolo the dragon ball. Piccolo took the ball and looked at it. It indeed looked like the original, the only thing that made the difference was the black writing on one side of it.

"Did she happen to tell you what these symbols mean?" he asked.

"No. I failed to ask her," replied Bardock.

"Well whatever this thing really is, we'll figure it out,"

"I'm sure we will, but…I need to find my son. I don't know why, but I feel that he has something to do with all of this."

"How do you figure? Why would he bring a human from another dimension here?"

"We'll just have to see once I find him. I'm through with these unpredictable comings and goings of his. Once I find him, I'll teach him a lesson on giving some proper notice. He's worried his family and friends long enough."

"I get your concerns, but your son, believe it or not, usually has a good reason for doing stuff like this. You know that he's more than capable of handling things on his own. We'll just have to be patient. As for the kid, she'll have to wait with the rest of us," said Piccolo with his words of wisdom.

"I understand. But I just have to see that my son's alright. I have to find him, or at least try to."

"And if you can't?"

"Then we'll just wish for Shenron to send Caroline back to her own world. There really wouldn't much of a reason to keep her here longer than we have to," said Bardock as he turned away from Piccolo. He just looked down at the seemingly bottomless caverns below him.

"Alright then," Piccolo then said. He took a few steps away from the Saiyan, but then stopped. He had almost forgotten something.

"Just one more thing," he said turning again to Bardock. This time Bardock in turn looked to face Piccolo as well.

"What is it, Piccolo?" he asked.

"When you and that kid…"

"Her name is Caroline," added Bardock.

"Right, right," said Piccolo. "Anyway, when you first came in contact with her, did you notice anything _odd_ about her power level?"

"No, it felt pretty normal to me. Typical human energy," replied Bardock. "Why?"

"I stopped by Capsule Corp. to get a look at her without having to show myself. While I was there, I felt an unusually high energy. At first I suspected it was Vegeta or Trunks', but it soon became clear that it was nothing like the energy of a Saiyan. It wasn't dark, just very…unfamiliar to me," said Piccolo with a serious tone.

"You don't say. Well she _is_ from another dimension. It's quite possible that the Earthlings from her world have a different energy signature than the ones here," assumed Bardock.

"You're probably right. Let's just try and focus on getting her back. Good luck." And then, Piccolo vanished. Bardock was now alone again on the plateau. He then looked back up at the hazy, cloudless sky in deep thought.

"_Wherever you are, son, I'll find you," _he thought. He then jumped to the skies and in a flash was moving as fast as the speed of light through space using his instant transmission. Within a few milliseconds, he teleported to the farthest reaches of the Milky Way to hopefully discover Goku.

Meanwhile, back at Capsule Corp. the rest of the day for Caroline seemed pretty uncomfortable. She spent most of her time just walking around and looking at things to grow accustomed to her surroundings. She had quickly gotten acquainted with Bulma's parents who were very hospitable towards her, especially Mrs. Briefs, who offered at least three times to make her something sweet to eat. Finally Caroline caved and agreed for her to make Caroline a house warming cake. Mr. Briefs, even in his old age, still carried much charisma and a passion for science. He told her that she could stay at the house as long as she liked, and Caroline gratefully thanked them both for their kindness. Caroline also noticed that that funny little black cat that she always saw hanging on to Mr. Briefs shoulder was gone. Apparently it had passed away a while ago. So, they in turn got a puffy white kitten which they all called Snow who seemed to take a liking to her. He followed her through the house for the rest of the day. As for the rest of the family, Trunks had gone out, and Bulma was home schooling Bra, so Bra spent most of the time in her room doing her studies. Vegeta was nowhere to be found. The fact that he practically despised her guts at this point made her feel a bit paranoid. Chances were that somehow he was keeping a close eye on her, so she was very cautious with her actions. She then remembered that Bulma had asked to see her phone. She then went back to her room and took it to Bulma. who was busy working in her laboratory. Caroline was amazed at all of the machines, computers, and gadgets she had never seen before. Some of them blinked and beeped repeatedly in an electronic rhythm. It was like walking into an 70's science fiction movie.

Bulma seemed very eager to see the cell phone again. Once Bulma had it in her hands Caroline could tell she wanted to know how the thing worked inside and out. Caroline then explained to Bulma the basics.

"So you slide this bar down here, and it opens up to the main page. That's where you'll find access to the internet, music, apps, and some other stuff. You use your fingers to scroll from page to page like this," said Caroline as she demonstrated with the phone.

"I've never seen a cellular phone design like this before. And it even operates with a touch screen. The graphics look very sleek," said Bulma adoringly. "The technology on your home world must be very advanced," she added.

"Well, I guess you could say that. We still don't have flying cars or those little capsules that your family invented, but we've come pretty far."

"So I take it you can't get any service on here?" Bulma then asked.

"No, it tried," replied Caroline.

"Well, don't worry. Once Bardock comes back with Goku, we'll straighten this all out. But if you don't mind my asking, what did you two discuss yesterday?"

"Oh, uh…well since this place is slightly different from what I've seen back home, I asked for him to try and tell me briefly all that's happened these past couple of decades just so I'd understand better."

"Oh my! No wonder it took him so long. We were afraid that you ran off so far that you got lost," said Bulma.

"Yeah well, it didn't seem like he had much of a hassle finding me. I'm just glad he believed my story, but it all does sound truly crazy, doesn't it?" asked Caroline.

"It'll be alright, hun."

"Bulma, do you know where Vegeta is?" asked Caroline, hoping that Bulma would tell her that he was far, far, away from the house.

"Oh, he's probably off somewhere training. Don't let him intimidate you, sweety. He'll cool down soon," assured Bulma. She then got out a small, silver toolbox from behind her desk.

"Do you mind if I take this thing apart for a minute? I want to see how it works from the inside," said Bulma still fidgeting with the phone.

"Wha-what?" fearfully asked Caroline.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll put it all back together once I'm done. Nothing bad will happen to it, I promise," assured Bulma.

"O-okay, you're the scientist," said the shaky Caroline.

"Oh thank you! This'll just take a few short minutes," she then gathered her small tools that she felt were necessary for the procedure. She then got her screwdriver and started to unscrew the tiny nails that held the phone together.

"I just want to see what kind of motherboard design this device requires in order for it to function properly. Just one more screw and—"

DING-DOOOONG

"Well who could that be now?" said Bulma, who was just about to pry the phone in half when the door rang. Caroline heaved a small sigh of relief.

She then followed Bulma down the hallway from her laboratory to the main door. Bulma then looked through the peephole and her expression quickly changed from annoyed to slightly joyful. Then quickly unlocked the door and opened it. There were two people who greeted her on the other side. One, which was the first that Caroline noticed, was a little girl with straight, shoulder-length black hair in a cute little school uniform who ran up to hug Bulma. The other person was a young woman, with wavy dark brown hair that barely went passed her shoulders. She also had highly arched bangs and a dark blue headband to pull her flowing hair from her brown eyes. Her outfit included a checkered blouse that matched the color of her headband, and a pair of tan pants and green boots. But the one thing that stood out the most about the woman was that even though she had a very slender figure, her stomach bulged straight out from the rest of her body. Caroline could only figure that it meant one thing. She was pregnant.

"Oh, Hana! It's good to see you," said Bulma happily. The little girl grabbed onto the jacket tied around Bulma's waist and tugged it to get her attention.

"Hi, Bulma! Aren't you going to say hi to me?" asked the little girl with a bright smile on her face.

Bulma then looked down at the girl and smiled back at her. "Of course I am. How could I ever forget you, Pan?"

"That's Pan?" Caroline asked herself. Now she could easily see the resemblances of Gohan and Videl in her chubby little face. She had to keep telling herself that it had only been about five years since Goku left with Ubb to train, and back then Pan was still a toddler. Pan would be in elementary school by now, which would explain the outfit she was wearing. But who was the woman Pan was with? What were they doing here?

"Pan overheard her dad saying something about you having an unexpected guest this morning. When I picked her up from school, she wouldn't stop asking me to take her to meet her. Then she gave me those big puppy dog eyes and I just couldn't say no," said the woman that Bulma called "Hana." Once she saw that Caroline was in the room, she instantly suspected that she was the guest in question.

"Oh, hello. You must be her, then," said Hana with a gentle smile. Unfortunanlty, Pan beat her to Caroline and wrapped her arms around Caroline's legs in an effort to give a big hug. All Caroline could do was stand still as a stature in surprise of Pan's expressive friendliness.

"Hi there, miss! I'm Pan. It's nice to meet you!" Her smile then dropped. She then let go of Caroline's legs and walked around her in a circle to get a full look at her.

"Hmmm. She looks just like us, Auntie. Why would Papa think that she's from somewhere different?" asked Pan as she continued to look at Caroline.

"It's a little more complicated than that, Pan. Of course I wouldn't be able to explain it myself. Parallel universes can be a little confusing," replied Hana. "Now give her a little space, honey. It's not nice to startle people like that."

"Oh, sorry," said Pan with remorse.

"It's okay. It's nice to meet you, Pan. I'm Caroline."

"Caroline? That's a pretty. I've never heard of a name like that before," Pan said with excitement. Pan then ran up to Hana and grabbed her arm tightly.

"This is my Auntie Hana," she said with a smile. She then patted her aunt's large stomach gently. "And this is my little baby cousin. It's gonna be born soon!"

"Thank you for introducing us, Pan. It's nice to meet you…Caroline was it?" asked Hana.

"Yes, and it's nice to meet you too," said Caroline. In her mind she was trying to piece together how this woman could be related to Pan. From what she knew, Videl didn't have any sisters and Gohan's only sibling was Goten, who couldn't have been married since she was already introduced to his girlfriend. So what was the connection?

"Don't mind me asking, but would you happen to be Videl's sister by any chance?" asked Caroline.

"Huh? Oh! Ha, ha, ha! I'm sorry but there's been a little misunderstanding. I'm afraid Pan forgot to add that I'm actually her great aunt," she then said.

"You're her _great_ aunt? But that means that…what's your husband's name?"

"Oh, Raditz is my husband," replied Hana blankly.

"What! R-Raditz is m-_married_?" asked Caroline with a loud tone. Bulma, Hana, and Pan didn't seem to mind Caroline's sudden outburst at all.

"Yes ma'am! We've been married for about three years now. Why? Did Gohan not mention that when he came by?" asked Hana curiously.

"No. Nobody told me anything about that!" said Caroline. She then looked again at Hana's tummy.

"And I'm guessing that's _his_ kid in there?" she asked.

"Yep! This is our little baby. And it's an active one all right, just like its father," said Hana as she rubbed her stomach.

"Great Uncle Raditz and Auntie Hana wanna wait 'til it's born to see if it's boy or a girl. Oh, I hope it's a girl!" exclaimed Pan.

"_I don't believe this…Raditz is…married,"_ thought Caroline to herself. She then decided to change the subject.

"So uh…how far along are you," said Caroline still looking a Hana's large stomach.

"I'm about seven months in now. Oh, I can't wait to finally see it!" said Hana with much anticipation. All Caroline could do was try to picture the wacky hair that the poor child would be born with. Without a doubt, it would look just like Raditz's. Then Pan broke her train of thought

"So you're from another universe, huh? That sounds really cool! What does your world look like? Does it have oceans? Amusement parks? Shopping malls? World tournaments?"

"Now Pan, one question at a time," ordered Hana.

"Uh…we have most of those things, I'm not sure about the world tournaments though," said Caroline. "We do have martial arts tournaments, but probably not the kind you all have here."

"So do you like to fight?" asked Pan.

"No, I'm anything but a fighter. I'd be terrible at it if I tried," admitted Caroline.

"Oh , I'm sure you'd do great! If you want, I can teach you some moves that my grandpa taught me," suggested Pan. She then readied herself in her fighting stance to give a demonstration.

"Some of them are really easy to learn. This one's called—"

"Pan, I think you might have to save that for another day. Caroline still getting settled in, and this has only been her first day here. Maybe you can teach her some other time," said Bulma.

"Oh, alright," said Pan as she straightened herself back up. "I guess we can do that later."

"Pan!" yelled Bra as she ran into the room.

"Hey, Bra!" said Pan. The two young friends hugged and went off to ask each other about their day.

"The cake is ready, everyone!" called Mrs. Briefs from the kitchen.

"Why did mom bake a cake?" asked Bulma curiously.

"She really wanted to bake something for me, so I guess she made a cake," confessed Caroline, who scratched the back of her head out of nervousness.

"Oh, mother. She's always trying to find an excuse to make treats," said Bulma placing her hand to her forehead with a slight smile.

"Oh, boy! Cake! Can we stay for cake, Auntie? Please?" begged Pan.

"You don't want to spoil your dinner, do you Pan?" asked Hana.

"Oh, please? Just for one small slice?" begged Pan with big, starry eyes. She was using her secret weapon on her helpless aunt. She just couldn't deny her request.

"Okay, but just a small one. But as soon as you're done, we should probably head on to your house. Your mom and dad will want you to have finished all of your homework when they get home," said Hana.

"Yay! Let's go, Bra!" Pan grabbed her friend's hand then ran for the kitchen.

The cake that Mrs. Briefs had prepared was very delicious. It was devil's food with rich, white icing that had the word "Welcome" written in bold blue icing in the center. Caroline graciously thanked Mrs. Briefs for the food and was touched by the gesture. While everyone sat at the table to eat, Caroline tried to get to know Hana a little better, and how she wound up getting married to Raditz.

"So how did you and Raditz meet?" she asked.

"Well, we first got acquainted when I became Mr. Satan's new secretary. I've been working for him for almost six years now, but the first time that we really got close to each other was the day he saved my life," replied Hana dreamily as she rested her chin in her hand.

"Saved your life?"

"Yeah. About four years ago, Mr. Satan was challenged by some old rival of his, and stormed the office area of his mansion where I was working. He had this whole armed posse with him and he must've had an awful grudge against Mr. Satan since he threatened to tear the place apart if he refused to fight him. Luckily for us, Radtiz was with Mr. Satan in his main office getting his prize money as payment for 'losing' against Mr. Satan in the finals of that years' tournament. After finding out what was going on, he agreed to fight for Mr. Satan and free me and the other hostages. Those guys didn't stand a chance against Raditz. Once his men were taken out, that madman decided to ransom me for some money out of desperation, but Raditz rescued me before any trouble occurred. Knocked the poor jerk out cold in a single swing! I guess that little incident sort of sparked a connection between the two of us. So we saw eachother for a year and then we got married and here we are now expecting a baby," concluded Hana.

"I wish I could've been there. Me and him woud'a teamed up and kicked the crud out of all of 'em!" proclaimed Pan, raising her fork straight up above her.

"It's certainly a way to fall in love with somebody," added Bulma.

"So do Raditz and the others still participate in the tournament?" asked Caroline.

"Oh yes! He loves fighting. He and Vegeta go at it all the time to get some good practice," said Hana and she munched on her cake. She appeared to be very supportive of her husband's favorite "hobby."

"Where is Vegeta anyway, Bulma? I haven't seen him yet," Hana then asked.

"Who knows? He'll be back for dinner eventually," scoffed Bulma. If anything would get him back in the house, it would be his appetite.

"So, Caroline? Why did you decide to come here? Your home's not in some sort of danger is it? If it is, don't worry. My family will beat up the bad guys responsible, just you see!" said Pan while chewing her last bite of cake.

"Now Pan, don't be rude. Don't talk with your mouth full," rebuked Hana.

"Sorry, Auntie."

"Actually, Pan, I'm not really sure why I was brought here. That's what Bardock and the others are trying to figure out, but I'm pretty sure that my home's not in any danger," replied Caroline.

"You already met Great Gramps? Aw, I wanted to introduce you to him. Do you like him?" asked Pan.

"Yes, he's a very nice man," replied Caroline.

"You bet he is! My Great Grandpa is super strong! He's one of the best in the whole world!" exclaimed Pan.

"Hey, Pan? I think maybe we should get going. I need to take you home so you get started on your homework," said Hana as she carefully lifted herself out of the chair. Even though the baby was nowhere near ready to come, it was easy to see that the child inside of her was going to be big, and it was already causing Hana to be more careful with her movements.

"Aw, really?" wined Pan. "Bra, you're so lucky that you get to stay home for school."

"At least you get to socialize with other kids everyday," whispered Bra with envy.

"Well drive safely, Hana. Thanks for stopping by," said Bulma

"Of course. I hope that everything goes well with you, Caroline. Let's chat again sometime," waved Hana as Bulma accompanied her and Pan to the door.

"Yeah, bye guys! Bye, Caroline! Don't forget about those fighting lessons!" said Pan.

"I will," said Caroline. Truth be told, she really couldn't care about fighting. Doing something like that never appealed to her a day in her life.

"Miss McBride?" came the raspy tired voice of Mr. Briefs. Caroline turned around to find the elderly man walking into the dining room with a lit up face.

"I was hoping if I could borrow you for a moment," he said.

"Sure. What do you need, sir?" asked Caroline.

Mr. Briefs then walked up to Caroline and placed his left arm across Caroline's back and lead her through the hallway.

"I'd like to ask a few questions about the types of natural principles your world possesses. By that I mean if they have the same laws of physics and other natural phenomena that we do here. The idea of parallel universes and all has really gotten my creative juices flowing again. I'd also like to run some basic tests to compare the characteristics of human beings from your world to that from here, if that's alright with _you _of course?" he then said.

"What kind of tests, sir?"

"Oh, nothing extensive, just a few blood tests, brain wave observations, and maybe even a CAT scan. You've been through one of those kinds of machines, haven't you?

"_Oh boy…"_ gulped Caroline as the two went further down the hall.

Meanwhile, in the vast reaches of space, light years way from the Earth's solar system, there was a small reddish planet that had three small moons orbiting around it. On said planet, the geography was much different than that of Earth. The grass was colored a light red and instead of blades for the shape of the grass, they resembled cockleburs that were bunched up and a prickly. The trees were very tall and thin, with leaves the same color as the grass and the trunk's color was that of a dark purple. Lizard-like birds flew from tree to tree giving a gurgling call that echoed through the valley. In the distance, a large lake could be seen nearby, surrounded by trees and odd looking purple plants. Near the shoreline, larger creatures in small groups were gathered to get a drink from the large body of water. Then out of seemingly thin air, Bardock teleported to an empty spot of land, which scared the animals near the lake away. He looked around with the same frustrated look on his face as before.

"Argh! Damn it, he's not here either. Well, then again, there probably wouldn't be for him to journey all the way to Beltada. But this is the last possible place I can think of," he said to himself.

He then walked a small distance towards the lake. The place was just how he remembered it when he woke up on this planet all those years ago. Further off past the lake, he could see a few huts shaped like stone igloos and some livestock grazing in the fields. He thought in silence for a moment to think of what to do now. Goku simply had vanished. His father had searched practically everywhere for him, traveling to every planet he had ever been on, even ones he had conquered in Frieza's name, an came up with nothing. He then thought that perhaps he should take Piccolo's advice and try to search through Otherworld, but then thought that the journey would be pointless. It was almost as if his son didn't even want to found.

Through with Beltada, he then instantly transmitted himself through space. He intended to check just a few more planets nearby just to check.

"_Maybe it would be best if we just sent her home with the dragon balls. Keeping her here wouldn't do much good for anyone at this point. The important thing to do would be to get her back to where she belongs, back to her family. It was easy to tell that she was in a hurry to-" _

Suddenly, he felt the familiar sharp pain in the back of his neck that shot through his body. It was another vision.

"_What now?" _he asked himself.

His vision blurred instantly and the entire setting changed around him. Instead of flying at light speed through space, he found himself seeing random images that appeared to be back on Earth. This vision was going by a lot slower then his last one. It seemed that there was some sort of battle going on in an open area outside the city, and he was soon able to see three figures. One of them was a tall and heavily built alien, wearing odd gray and blue clothing with silver, broken pieces of armor. The second person was a young girl wearing traditional Sayain armor, standing a couple of feet away from the other figure propping herself up against a stone. The third was a young man lying flat on his back, and had his arms, legs, and torso bound to the ground by ropes made of some sort of ki. As Bardock looked closer, he recognized the boy easily. It was Trunks, and he wasn't in too good of shape.

"_What's going on here?"_ Bardock pleaded.

He then fixed his attention to the girl in armor. She seemed heavily battered and bleeding, even more so than Trunks. It wasn't long before Bardock recognized her as well. It was easy thanks to her blonde hair. _"Wait a minute. That's-that's Caroline! But it can't be!"_ The vision soon turned into random bits of images and voices all going by at rapid speeds.

_"What the- How the hell are you still standing? I zapped you out cold!"_

_"Once I get you to my mom, you'll be good as new."_

_ "Get ready for the best lights display of your life, jerk wad!"_

_"Spiral…Comet…"_

_"They can't all be gone! There's got to be one left!"_

_"I'm going to make you regret that…right down to the very last punch!"_

_ "SOAR!"_

With that, the vision had ended. Bardock found himself floating in the middle of space. What he just saw puzzled him greatly.

"Was that…Caroline? No, it's impossible. This is all becoming way too strange. I have to send Caroline back. She can't stay here. Once I finish looking through these next few planets, I'm going straight back to the lookout to get the dragon balls. Whatever that vision was, it must be some sort of mistake. There's no possible way that Caroline would become a fighter unless…that odd power that Piccolo felt…no. It must've been something else. I'll just have to look into it once I return home."

He then resumed his instant transmission and bolted again through space, as fast as possible.

"_That girl couldn't have been her,"_ he told himself. _"It couldn't have."_


	5. Chapter 5: Kami's Lookout

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to DB, DBZ, or DBGT.**

Chapter 5: Kami's Lookout

"Caroline! Hey Caroline, wake up you sleepy head," yelled Pan from across Caroline's bed, only to fail in stirring the sprawled, limp, body lying on top of it. All that came as a response were tired groans.

After a full day of adjusting to her new temporary home, Caroline thought sleep wouldn't be a problem for her. However, her homesickness was beginning to take a toll on her. She missed her parents, her friends, and her siblings all the more each time she'd think of them, which kept her awake most of the night. It was a miracle she was able to get any sleep at all.

"*Grooooaaan*, Huh?"

"Wake up! It's me Pan!"

"Pan? What're you doing here?" yawned Caroline.

"Papa, Uncle Goten and Great Uncle Raditz are here for you…and I wanted to come with them. Now you need to get up and greet the beautiful day!" said Pan with a smile.

"Wuh-Why? What do they need me for?" asked Caroline as she yawned and rubbed her face.

"Great Uncle Raditz said that Great Gramps sent him a message to take you to the lookout to meet him there. He's going to get you home!"

Caroline's eyes instantly widened with excitement. In a sudden burst of energy, she darted from her bed and quickly and zig-zagged around the room grabbing a new pair of clothes and other things needed in order to get ready.

And a few minutes later, Caroline, now dressed and had all of her things together, ran through the hallway to meet Pan and Bra who then led her to the living room, the same one that she had woken up in on her first day in this universe. There, she found Raditz and Vegeta standing by the window and Gohan, Bulma, Goten and Trunks sitting on the furniture. Once the three girls entered the room, Gohan stood up from his seat out of courtesy.

"Hi, there! It's good to see you again," said Goten with a bright smile.

"I see that bruise is healing up quickly," he added, pointing to Caroline's forehead.

"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about that," said Caroline as she rubbed it with her fingers, it didn't hurt as much as it did yesterday.

"Good morning, er… I mean afternoon," said Gohan with a smile. Caroline noticed that he wasn't wearing his suit anymore, but a casual shirt and pants, the same as his uncle, who was wearing similar clothes instead of his martial arts apparel.

"Oh, sorry. I overslept. I uh…was having trouble sleeping," admitted Caroline. She briefly turned her attention to Vegeta who she found was giving her a cold glare. She assumed the only reason he was even here was to make sure she was sent away promptly.

"It's alright. We just arrived, so it's nothing to worry about. Anyway, I trust Pan told you about why we're here…" said Gohan.

Caroline nodded. "So he can really take me back? Did he find Goku?"

"No, he didn't, but he still wants to make sure you get back safely," replied Raditz. "We'll be using the dragon balls gathered at the tower to wish you home."

"Oh. So Bardock couldn't find him anywhere? I mean _anywhere_?" asked Bulma.

"Father searched through the whole galaxy to see if he could find him, yet Kakarot couldn't be found."

"He went through the whole galaxy in a little over a day?" asked Caroline.

"The Instant Transmission makes things like that a lot more convenient," replied Raditz with a smirk.

"Cool," said Caroline with awe.

"I still don't see why Grandfather is so anxious about her leaving so soon. There's still a lot about this situation that I don't understand," said Gohan concerned.

"Well, Caroline knows nothing about it either, so there's really no reason for her to be away from home any longer. I think most of the problem came from that dragon ball. But it's staying here with us so we can look further into it. Is that okay with you, Caroline?" asked Trunks.

"Do whatever the heck you feel like with it. I want to stay as far away from that ball as possible," replied Caroline.

"Okay then. Are you ready to go to the tower?" asked Gohan.

"Uh-huh." Caroline grinned.

"Oh, you'll love it! If you look hard enough, you can see _everything_ from up there!" exclaimed Goten.

"Sounds awesome! So how are we getting there?" asked Caroline.

"Well, one of us could fly you there, or maybe you should travel with Bulma in her ship," suggested Gohan.

"I'll fly her there," said Raditz.

Everyone looked at Raditz in confusion.

"Uncle?" muttered Gohan.

"Father asked for me to bring her to the tower and that's what I'll do," said Raditz as he came up to Caroline, who she found dwarfed her immensely. "As long as that's alright with you,"

"Um…sure. Why not," said Caroline, engulfed in Raditz's shadow.

"Alright! Lets get going! I can't wait to see that Shenron guy!" said Pan as she grabbed Caroline by the hand and led her outside. She then stopped and looked up at Caroline with a sad frown. "But I wish you didn't have to go so soon. There's still a lot of things I wanna ask you about."

"It'll be okay, Pan. It was nice to meet you all in person, and I'd hate to leave such an awesome place so soon, but I have to get home to let my family know that I'm okay. And who knows? Maybe Shenron can allow me to come and visit you guys," said Caroline with a smile.

"Really? That would be great!" exclaimed Pan.

"Pfft," said Vegeta under his breath, annoyed.

Once everyone was outside, they saw that Bulma and Bra had already taken off in their small hover plane to get to the Lookout. Caroline made sure that her phone and newly washed clothes were secure in a small bag that Bulma had given to her and awkwardly allowed Raditz to carry her in his arms. Then, the rest of the group took off to the skies.

There wasn't much conversation going on. Trunks and Goten were discussing things a few feet in the distance with Gohan and Pan, Vegeta was well ahead of the group, and at the very end were Caroline and Raditz. Caroline tried to keep her attention away from Raditz who she knew probably hadn't forgotten the mysterious story about her version of him in her world, who ended up getting killed off very, very early. She tried to rationalize the situation in her mind.

" _Maybe he forgot about it already. He's probably just following orders. He doesn't want to talk to you. Just keep silent and he'll—"_

"Um…miss Caroline? Since this will probably be the last time for us to chat, I was hoping you wouldn't mind continuing that story you were telling me about. You know? The one from yesterday? I'd like to know what happened in your world when I came to Earth."

"_Crap baskets."_

"Well, uh…it all happened pretty much the same as it did here, but there was just one small detail," said Caroline with a nervous smile.

"And what was that?" asked Raditz with innocent curiosity.

"Well…you see, in my world, your father was killed by Frieza when he tried to save Planet Vegeta…"

Raditz nodded.

"_Here it goes. Please explain this gently…"_ Caroline ordered to herself.

"Well my understanding was that, here, Bardock was there when you, Goku, and Piccolo first fought, right?"

"Yes."

"So just try and picture the fight if Bardock hadn't of stepped in. Let's say he died fighting Frieza and was completely out of the picture. Remember when Goku grabbed hold of you from the back around the end of the fight?"

"I do."

"And remember when Piccolo was charging his Special Beam Cannon for the second time?"

"Yeah," Raditz replied, with a now worried look trying to process what she was implying with all these questions.

"Remember what that attack did to that mountain when he used it the _first_ time?"

"Yeeaah," said the now fearful Raditz,, remembering all those years ago, how those large, impressive mountain ranges behind where the battle took place were decimated into huge craters from Piccolo's beam.

"And since Bardock wasn't there to push you two out of the beam's way…"

Raditz thought for a second and then suddenly stopped in mid-air. The rest of the group noticed Radits's pause and also stopped to see what the problem was.

"What's the deal with Uncle Raditz?" asked Goten.

All that Trunks needed to see was Raditz looking horrifyingly at Caroline who was fidgeting with a nervous look on her face that told him what was going on.

"Oh no…" whispered Trunks.

"Don't…don't tell me Kakarot and I both died by Piccolo's hand," said Raditz.

"I wish I could," replied Caroline.

"And no one wished me back with the dragon balls?" asked Raditz. Deep down he knew the answer.

"And that that's why I know so little about you. When you went to Earth…that was the only time you were ever shown on the show. Goku was still granted the privilege to train with King Kai in Otherworld for Vegeta and Nappa's arrival and was eventually brought back to life. After _you_ died you went to…you went to Hell," concluded Caroline.

The look on her carrier's face gave her the impression that she had not told him the story as "gently" as she had planned, so she tried to soften the conversation.

"But the _good_ news is here, you're alive and well. You may not have been as lucky where _I'm_ from, but here, you've got a wife and a kid on the way, and you have a _much_ stronger relationship with your father and brother than you ever had in my world and…Raditz?"

Raditz tried to say something, but the only sounds that came out were slight cracks in his throat.

"_Raditz?_"

Gohan slowly flew over to him, trying to figure out what caused his relative's sudden halt.

"Uncle Raditz? Is everything al—"

Before Gohan could even ask what was the matter, his uncle zoomed passed everyone at top speed to the lookout, with Caroline wailing with all her might. The two even passed Vegeta who already had about a five-mile lead on the rest of the group. He sensed Raditz's power level coming, so he stopped to see why the longhaired Saiyan was in such a hurry all of the sudden. Raditz didn't seem to see him and Vegeta had to bolt up in the air to avoid from being rammed. All that was left afterwards was Caroline's faint screaming in the distance.

"Raditz! What the hell are you doing, you moron?!" Vegeta yelled into the distance.

Meanwhile at Kami's Lookout, Dende, Mr. Popo, and Piccolo where waiting for everyone to show so they could summon Shenron. Dende had placed the dragon balls neatly on the stone floor outside the living quarters. Piccolo had been informed by Bardock telepathically to get the dragon balls together for when he returned today, which meant that he was unsuccessful in finding Goku, and it caused him to feel uneasy. Suddenly in a flash, Bardock appeared behind the small group. Both Dende and Mr. Popo were startled by his arrival, but Piccolo stood as still as a statue, knowing there was nothing to fear. As soon as Bardock saw the Guardian of Earth and his loyal companion, the serious look on his face quickly vanished and he gave a light, happy smile.

"Bardock! You're back so soon!" said Dende in amazement.

"Well, I was hoping my little journey wouldn't take up too much time, but it turned out to be totally useless," said Bardock with his serious gaze. He was _not _happy about the outcome of his search.

"So, you really couldn't find them, huh? Well, I'm sure Goku and Uub are alright. I mean, this is your _son_ we're talking about here. If there's one thing I've learned out of all my years of knowing him, he never stays away for too long," encouraged Dende.

"Thank you, Dende. I appreciate it."

"I think I sense your _other_ son coming," said Piccolo with his back still turned to the edge. He paused for a moment. He felt Raditz coming at a faster speed then the others, but there was something else that told him something was up.

"Bardock, don't tell me you don't feel that," he said in a deliberant tone.

"Other than the fact that Raditz is probably trying to race against Vegeta again, no I—wait, what the…?"

Bardock tried in his mind to determine exactly what energy he was feeling, which he knew definitely wasn't his eldest son's. The overall power level was low, but it ranked much higher than normal human beings. That wasn't what bewildered Bardock the most. What got to him was how foreign it felt. It was an energy that he had never felt before in his lifetime, out of all the life forms he had come in contact with in his many years.

"Is that coming from Caroline?" he asked as he walked up to the edge next to Piccolo.

Piccolo nodded.

"_Wow, Piccolo. You weren't kidding when you said that her energy felt 'unfamiliar." Why couldn't I sense it in the first place? Well, that may be the least of my concerns right now. Still, if this proves my latest vision to be correct, we may have a bit of a situation on our hands. Hopefully none of that will come to pass, but there's only one way to find out…"_ thought Bardock.

As he pondered his thoughts, Raditz came into view. Caroline had stopped screaming when she spotted the Lookout. It looked just as she had remembered it. The platform looked huge! To the right, she saw the two small lines made up of palm trees that outlined the entrance, and the four other groups of aligned trees that covered what would be the corners, if not for it's circular shape. And to the left were the three large, round buildings with four taller towers surrounding it. As she got closer, she could see that the roofs were colored white and gold with tall pillars on the top level and little windows that made their way around each wall on the lower floors. Yes, just as how she remembered it.

She then saw four little lines near the entrance, getting bigger and bigger, which then revealed to be some of the other important characters of the Dragon Ball universe. But the one who first caught her attention was Bardock, and even though he came back empty handed, it was nice to see one of her favorite characters again. However, Raditz also was able to see his father, and ceased to slow down. He seemed absolutely overjoyed to see him.

"Faaatheerrrr!" called Raditz. As he yelled, his voice got louder as his distance from the group became shorter and shorter. He then swung his feet downward towards the platform and swiftly landed on the stone-plated ground accompanied by a strong gust of wind that followed him. He then quickly lowered Caroline on the ground and sped over to Bardock.

"Land! Oh thank you, _God_! Sweet stable ground, I'll never leave you again!" groveled Caroline as she bowed with both knees on the floor, placing her face and hands on the cold stone with affection.

Meanwhile Raditz had made his way to Bardock, and before Bardock could ask for an explanation, his son gave him a tightly fastened embrace.

"Father…" began the visibly out of breath Raditz, who was still latched on to his Bardock, " I just discovered…Kakarot and I…you saved both our lives that day when I first came here. If it weren't for you, we would have met a _horrible_ fate. Kakarot was fortunate, but as for me, I would never have had the chance to live the life that I have now! I would've ended up spending an eternity in a place filled with pain and suffering, _forever!_"

Raditz then buried his face in his father's left should and tightened his grasp. Bardock just stood there and listened to his son's words in sentiment, confusion and embarrassment as the others just blinked and stared at the scene Raditz had created. Oblivious to this, Raditz continued, even though his speech was a bit muffled since his mouth was covered by Bardock's broad shoulder.

"You have no idea how grateful I am to have you here with me, father. Thank you for all that you've done for me, for our family…"

The rest of the group soon flew in and looked at the two of them with addled expressions, not knowing what to say. Caroline, who had stopped her petty ground worshiping to observe the little spectacle, could feel the awkwardness and discomfort shown on Bardock's face.

Once Raditz was finished, Bardock instantly gave a sour look at Caroline, who was the only one whom he suspected responsible.

"You actually _told_ him?" he asked with agitation.

"I thought he might've handled it better," replied Caroline sheepishly with her hand clasped behind her back.

"Obviously not," said Bardock as he tried to unlatch his son's powerful arms off his own. Finally, he lost his patience. "Raditz, that's enough!"

Raditz then snapped back to his senses. He then quickly parted from Bardock and tried to muster whatever dignity he thought he had left by standing up straight and clearing his throat, with his face cherry red.

"Father, I apologize," said Raditz with a quick, deep tone in an effort to try to regain his composure. His attempt made Caroline giggle.

"Would someone mind telling me what this is all about? What's wrong with you, Raditz! You almost flew into me back there!" snapped Vegeta.

"We'll, talk about it later, Dad. Hey, Dende! It's been a while. Do you have the dragon balls ready?" asked Trunks as he waved and walked up to Dende.

"Yes. They're over by the entrance to the temple," replied the young Namekian.

"Awesome! Let's go," said Goten as he and the group walked in between the two rows of palm trees. Bardock stayed behind. He turned to see Caroline carefully creep her way up to the edge of the platform and slowly look down to find that they were so high up, that no land could be seen. All that she could see were puffy white clouds of all shapes and sizes floating in an endless blue atmosphere.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Bardock yelled right next to Caroline.

"Eeep!" she squealed as she tried to get her balance back. Thankfully, she grabbed hold of Bardock's arm and swiftly stabilized herself.

"Don't do that!" she yelled as she flung her arms off his.

"Heh, heh. Sorry, couldn't help myself. How have the Briefs been treating you?" he asked as they both followed behind the others.

"Oh, They've been great," said Caroline.

"I see you've taken a liking to their Capsule Corp. apparel," observed Bardock as he studyed Caroline's clothing, all of which had the business' logo placed somewhere on them.

"I figured I'd get some souvenirs to bring back home," said Caroline with one hand placed behind her head. "So…I heard you couldn't find Goku."

Bardock didn't comment. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the floor.

"I wouldn't worry about it," assured Caroline. "It would have been nice to meet him, but it was even better to meet you, Bardock."

"Huh? Why?" asked Bardock with wide eyes.

"Well, I always _did_ think of you as one of my favorite characters on the show, and to actually meet you and everybody else here has been amazing! You were the first to try and stop Frieza, you tried to change the future for the better, and you eventually _did_ kill Frieza and help your family. You're a real hero, Bardock," said Caroline as she looked down at the ground as they walked.

Bardock looked at Caroline and then at the ground also. He had never thought that a human like her admired him like that. He didn't want to admit it but deep down, it touched him.

"I'm flattered. That's very kind of you to say Caroli—Oof!" he was cut off by Caroline who hugged him around the waist, but not as tightly as Raditz did. Again, Bardock was trapped in an awkward situation, but he didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings by trying to pry her off.

"Thank you for helping me, and for believing me. And I'm really glad you didn't get killed all those years ago," she said with a smile.

"Uh…you're welcome?" replied Bardock with an eyebrow raised and a little red in his cheeks. He pondered for a moment. If one compared…her open, child-like innocence reminded him a lot of his youngest son. Her good nature and willingness to express her feelings as easily as Raditz and Goku made him wonder, _"If she truly does possess the power to be a fighter, with her personality, she has the potential to become a very strong one."_

"Hey!" yelled Vegeta, who was standing a few feet in the distance from the others, pointing at the two. He had a few veins showing around his temples from impatience. "I thought we all agreed that the hug fest was _over_! Now you two get your asses over here so we can _do what we came here to do_!"

Caroline then let go and stepped a few paces back to give Bardock his space.

"Vegeta didn't give you a hard time, did he?" said Bardock with a suspicious glare aimed at Vegeta.

"No, he was…alright. Barely showed himself actually," replied Caroline. She and Bardock then joined into the group who all gathered around the dragon balls.

"Bulma, Trunks, thank you all so much for letting me stay with you guys. Being at your house was a really cool experience," said Caroline to the Briefs family.

"It was good to have you with us. It's been a while since we have had any quests stay over," said Bulma as she hugged her.

"Oh yeah, and tell your parents I said thank you too,"

"Will do, hun," said Bulma giving a thumbs up.

"It was nice meeting you too, Vegeta," said Caroline as she leaned to the side to face him. He was standing all the way in the back with his arms crossed and his back turned.

"Hmph," was all he managed to say back.

Caroline then turned around to face the group. "It was great to meet all of you. It really was, and thanks again for all of your help."

Everyone then smiled and nodded. That was one of the things that Caroline was going to miss the most about the people here, their unwavering sense of compassion and happiness.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Dende.

"Go ahead, Dende," said Bardock. Dende nodded and then stepped forward to the dragon balls. Each of them were glimmering and looked just as polished as Caroline's dragon ball. Dende then raised his hands high above his head and spoke with a loud voice that even made Caroline jump a little.

"Arise, Shenron! We ask you to please come and grant our wishes!" yelled Dende with all of his might.

Everyone then stared intently at the dragon balls. Naturally, they were then supposed to glow brightly, the sky would turn, and Shenron would come forth…but nothing happened.

"What…What's going on?" asked the shocked Guardian of the Earth. Everyone else seemed to be just as puzzled.

"That's odd. Why isn't Shenron here yet," said Bulma.

"Well, why isn't it happening? All seven are here, so why aren't they doing anything?" asked Vegeta impatiently.

Now Caroline was really getting scared. Why wasn't Shenron coming out? The only ways that the summoning wouldn't work were either not all seven weren't collected, or if the dragon wasn't called correctly. Either of them weren't the case, and it left everybody horribly confused.

"I don't understand. Nothing like this has happened before. Shenron should've come by now," said the distressed Dende. Everyone joined together to try to discuss the matter.

"Hey you guys! Look!" exclaimed Pan, who was pointing at the dragon balls. They were now all flashing with a bright yellow light. Well not _all_ of them were flashing. Only the four-star ball wasn't doing anything at all, it just sat there as the others shown brightly on and off.

"Why are they all glowing but one?" asked Trunks. "Don't they only do that if they all aren't collected?"

"Yes, but that's impossible. All seven are present. There should be no reason for them to behave this way," informed Mr. Popo.

Gohan and Piccolo stood a little ways from the others, trying to come up with a reasonable answer for the problem. Gohan then saw something at the corner of his eye and turned to Piccolo and he gasped in surprise.

"Piccolo! There's something glowing in your pocket!" he said. Piccolo looked down to find that what his former pupil said was indeed correct. A small, circular object could be seen shining brightly periodically through the material of his garments. Piccolo then reached inside the opening of his pocket to take it out.

"_This couldn't possibly be…" _he thought to himself. But sure enough, that object was revealed to be the autographed four-star dragon ball that Caroline had brought with her. Piccolo had kept it on his person for safe keeping until Dende and Mr. Popo could fully examine it. It glowed with as much intensity as the rest.

"Why is _that_ dragon ball glowing? It can't be one of _our_ own. They're all already here," said Goten, looking at the blinking orb.

"Perhaps it _is_ one of ours," said Mr. Popo. He walked up to Piccolo and took the dragon ball and then walked over and took the dormant four-star ball from the collected seven. He then examined the two of them, glancing back and forth at the two identical spheres.

"But that couldn't be true," cut in Bardock. "That ball came from Caroline's home dimension, how could that be possible for it to be an original. The real one should be with the rest of the set."

"It does seem extremely strange, but this four-star ball seems to be the original since it's glowing with the others. I suppose there's only one way to know for certain," said Mr. Popo. He then placed the glowing four-star ball along the other six and held the non-glowing one in his hand.

"Try calling Shenron again, Dende," ordered Mr. Popo calmly.

Dende nodded and repeated the summoning.

"Arise, Shenron! We ask you to come forth and grant our wishes!"

With that, the seven balls then exploded with rays of light almost as bright as the sun itself. Rough winds came from nowhere and the sky then turned pitch black. Then, out from the dragon balls shot out a large, hurricane shaped beam, which bolted further up into the clouds above and intertwined within itself. Once the light dimmed, Caroline lowered her arm to see the powerful dragon Shenron with glowing red eyes looking down at the ones who called upon him. He made a booming growl that seemly anyone in the entire country could hear. Caroline had never seen such a magnificent and frightening sight in all her life.

"I don't understand. If Caroline's ball is one of the original, then how did it get into her world, and where did that other ball come from?' asked Gohan to Piccolo.

Piccolo stood there for a moment and looked at Shenron. Clearly Caroline's dragon ball was the real deal, which would explain its magical ability to bring her here in the first place, but why? How did it get into her possession?

"Hopefully Shenron will be able to answer those questions," he finally said.

"**You have summoned the eternal dragon! What are your wishes?" **asked Shenron in his deep, loud voice.

Bardock then stepped forward with Caroline and stretched his arms out to his sides, and like Dende, he spoke to the magical dragon as loud as he could so he could be heard.

"Shenron! We ask that you take this girl named Caroline McBride back to her home world!"

"_Well, this is it. I wish I could've gotten to know you guys a little better, but I've got things back home I gotta take care of. Goodbye everyone,"_ said Caroline in her mind. She then waited a few seconds for Shenron's eyes to glow and whisk her away from this place and take her back to her bedroom, where this whole mess started.

"**Your wish…cannot be granted,"** the great dragon answered.


	6. Chapter 6: Purpose?

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of DB, DBZ, or DBGT.**

Chapter 6: Purpose?

"**Your wish…cannot be granted,"** answered the great dragon.

Everyone on the Lookout gasped.

"What?" said Caroline irritably with her eyes narrowed. Her peace of mind was now clouded with frustration and anger.

Bardock just stood there with both of his arms still stretched out to his sides in the same position that he was in when he gave his wish, with shocked eyes still looking up at the giant, floating dragon.

"But…but _why_?" he asked the dragon without raising his voice. He didn't think that Shenron could hear him, but to his surprise, he did.

"**I am sorry, but I have been deemed unable to grant your wish,"** he boomed to the people bellow.

"So let me get this straight…" said Caroline as she stepped a few feet forward, "You can grant almost any wish imaginable, restore obliterated planets, _bring the dead back to life_, but you're telling me that you don't have the power TO TAKE ME BACK?!"

"Uh, Caroline…I don't think it's safe to yell at him like that," nervously murmured Goten without taking his eyes off of Shrenron.

"What are you talking about? You don't actually believe this crap, do you? He's an all-magical friggin _dragon_! I've seen him grant wishes _waaaay_ more complex than _this_! And more importantly, that dragon ball came to me from _him_! And if just one of those darn balls of his can get me here, then _he_ should be more than able get me—"

"**Silence!"** roared Shenron. The vibrations from his voice were so loud it made the Lookout shake. Everyone down below fretfully tried to keep his or her balances. Caroline's knees quickly shot to the ground with her arms covering her head in fear that Shenron would strike her with lightning or something else incredibly deadly.

"**You are the one who was sent here by the four-star dragon ball, correct?"** asked Shenron as he glared down at Caroline with his massive, blood red eyes.

"Y-yes, s-sir," replied Caroline feebly as she lowered one of her shielding arms to face the dragon.

"**Then…I have been asked to refrain from granting your wish. Not until your purpose here has been fulfilled," **Shenron then said.

"My…my purpose?" repeated Caroline, still crouched on the ground.

"Who has arranged all of this, Shenron? Who asked you to do this?" asked Bardock. He then looked down at the floor and thought for a moment, then looked back up to face the large dragon with another question. "Was it my son, Kakarot?"

"…"

"Please, Shenron! I have to know! Is my son behind all of this? Please tell me!" he then yelled. The powerful dragon was silent for a few seconds, then gave a deep sigh.

"**Very well. It was indeed Goku who requested for me to do this,"** replied Shenron.

"What?!" yelled most of the group in unison.

"**He wished for me to send one of the seven dragon balls to this girl's world. He then wished that whoever wished upon the ball would then be transported back to this place. But in order for them to be brought here, they could only harbor a good heart. Evidently this child is the one chosen," **revealed Shenron.

"How can that be? We would have known if Goku had used the dragon balls. The sky would have turned black.," said Bulma.

"He must have taken them without our knowing and summoned Shenron at night so no one would notice. It's the only explanation," said Mr. Popo solemnly.

"Can I see that four-star ball please?" asked Caroline to Mr. Popo. He nodded and handed her the orb. It wasn't as polished and shiny, and the stars were a slightly different shade of red. Caroline then noticed an inscription at the bottom's center and read it aloud.

"Made in…_Japan_?! He switched the balls!"

"_So the ball didn't actually grant my wish, me __wishing__ on it was how I got here. Then does that mean…this place is all real? Is this an actual dimension?"_ she asked herself.

"Now hold on! That doesn't sound like my dad at all! He would never do something like this, especially without telling any of _us_! Why would he ask for you to do these things?" asked Gohan.

"**I am afraid I do not know the answer to that question. I have told you all that I know. Keep in mind that I must still grant two of wishes of your choosing,"** boomed Shenron.

"I'll give you a wish! I wish for you to bring my son here right now!" hollered Bardock as he gritted his teeth.

"**I cannot,"** replied Shenron.

"Why the hell not?!" loudly asked the aged Saiyan.

"Because I know not where he is. He is not dead, but he is in a realm that I am not at all familiar with. Therefore, I cannot bring him here."

"Are you KIDDING ME?" yelled back Bardock. He then lowered his head in anger. His fists were clenched tightly and shaking as he tried to maintain his composure. Caroline had never seen Bardock so frustrated before, even when he recalled his dealings with Babidi.

"Kakarot…why would you do this? It makes absolutely no sense at all…" said Bardock through his teeth.

Raditz felt his heart sink as he observed his father.

"What could possibly be so damn important for you to do such a thing, Kakarot!" yelled Bardock to the heavens. Everyone looked at him and felt his pain. Things remained silent, until…

"Wait! Hoooold everything!" called a frail voice from the sky. Everyone looked up, away from Shenron and the Lookout, to find a short, bald, old man with a long white beard flying towards them on a pink pterodactyl. He was wearing an orange Hawaiian-style T-shirt with tan shorts. He was also wearing large red-rimmed sunglasses and was carrying a wooden staff.

"Is that…" began Caroline.

"Master Roshi!" called Bulma.

Indeed, it was none other than the old turtle hermit Roshi floating on down to the platform on the winged dinosaur's back, that is, until it turned into a large puff of smoke. Once the smoke faded, the pterodactyl was revealed to be the shape-shifting pig, Oolong. Unfortunately for the two of them, Oolong's transformation timed out a few seconds too early before landing, and both of them landed flat on their faces with a loud thud.

"Ooow! Darn it, you good-for-nothing pig! Don't you know how to properly treat a man my age?" angrily yelled the master as he lifted a fist in anger at Oolong, who was rubbing his injured face.

"I told you the trip would be risky, you old coot! We're lucky that I managed to stay transformed for as long as I did! Do you have any idea how hard it is to fly this high up?" retorted Oolong.

"Master Roshi, Oolong, what are you guys doing here?" asked Gohan.

Master Roshi then quickly stood up to face the others. "Well, when the entire sky turned black in the middle of the day, I figured you all were activating the dragon balls, which was only supposed to happen if there was some sort of emergency. So, I suspected that this was my cue," he replied, seeming to have completely forgotten his facial injuries.

"A cue for what?" asked Gohan.

"Well, from what Goku told me, and from what I heard from Bardock's yapping from up in the air, I guessing there have been some strange events going on lately regarding Goku's disappearance," said Master Roshi.

"You—You talked with Goku?" asked Trunks with wide eyes.

"Yes. He came to me several months ago. He had to tell me something he thought was extremely important."

"And what was that?" inquired Raditz.

"Well…" began the old master, "He came to me saying that he had received an urgent message from King Kai, which was originally passed down to him from Grand Kai saying that our galaxy was in grave danger."

The words "our galaxy" and "grave danger" got everybody's full attention, even Caroline's who merged with the rest of the group gathered around the old martial artist.

"Apparently, the West and South Galaxies are being terrorized by some elite force, led by beings of great magical power called the Shadow Mages. They have sent fleets of their minions to wipe out planets with any form of life on them to steal their energy, and we're next! No one knows much about them, not even the Kai's, but what they _do_ know is that the mages are very strong elite force. They're trying to find the dragon balls so they can obtain something. Something that can allow them to unleash a great evil…a um…oh, what did King Kai call it? Oh yes, a catalyst! Yes, they are looking for some sort of catalyst to be the one to house the entity of their deity, said to be one of the most powerful, wicked beings in the universe!"

"That sounds bad," said Goten.

"No, it sounds refreshing! So what exactly is this 'elite force' considering a catalyst to be?" asked Vegeta with a little anticipation.

"Well, when Goku got the message from King Kai, he went straight to the Elder Kai's planet to see if he could get some more information. Apparently, these Shadow Mages believe that there is an entire race of beings with a unique power that could be considered catalysts. If they manage to get their hands on one, they could use it to channel their deity's very essence! But Elder Kai also said to Goku that no catalyst in this universe existed, but perhaps in another one. And even though these Mages have discovered a way to travel from dimension to dimension, they have no way of locating it, so the only way for them to easily get to one with a catalyst in it would require the dragon balls."

"So where is my son now? Where has he been all this time?" asked Bardock.

"Yeah, where's grandpa?" asked Pan concerned.

"I'm getting there," replied Master Roshi. "Well, it wasn't surprising that Goku thought of this whole mess as some great challenge, so he insisted that Kibito Kai take him and this protégé to train in a variety of different dimensions so they could learn to fight in multiple environments and maybe even track the Mages down before they reached Earth. He also thought that bringing someone from the catalyst's dimension would come in handy since they're apparently so strong. How and when he plans to do that, I don't know."

What Master Roshi said made Bardock then glance at Caroline. Caroline had been brought here from another world by a dragon ball, which according to Shenron, Goku purposefully planned, and was supposed to remain here until her "purpose" had been realized. It would explain the odd energy that was coming from her. Was she coincidentally sent here to help fight this new enemy

"That's an awful lot of information that you've been keeping from us, old man. Why bring all this up now?" asked Piccolo.

"Yeah, Roshi! What were you thinking keeping all this stuff from us? You didn't think a evil force coming after the dragon balls was a big deal?" scolded Bulma.

Master Roshi gave a slight smile and nervously chuckled at all of the angry faces starring down at him for his silence.

"Heheheheh. Well don't blame me for it, blame Goku! He thought that with a little inter-dimensional training, he and Uub would be able to defeat those guys in no time so you all wouldn't have to worry or do anything about it. He told me to keep it to myself unless something important came up, but once Shenron was summoned I decided that now would be the time for me to come clean," defended the old man.

"Well that was a lousy plan. Since Kakarot's disappeared we've been more worried than ever. And if you're saying that these mages have entire fleets at their command looking for the dragon balls, it would be inevitable for us to help out sooner or later. Then again, Kakarot can get a little too overconfident sometimes," retorted Raditz.

"I will admit, I'm starting to get worried about those boys. I haven't heard from Goku in a while, and that catalyst he was supposed to get hasn't shone up yet," Roshi then said.

"Maybe she already has."

All heads were turned to Bardock who was staring intently at Caroline. Caroline noticed that he was indeed looking at her and then saw that the others were beginning to stare.

"You think…" she then pointed at herself, "that I'm the catalyst?"

"It would make sense, don't you think? Why else would a dragon ball bring you here?" asked Bardock.

"That _is_ a valid point," agreed Piccolo.

"There is no possible way that could be the case, Bardock!" snapped Vegeta as he cut his way through the group of people and stood right up to the eldest Saiyan. "Your son might be a complete imbecile considering all that he's put you through, but do you really believe that he would send a…" he then quickly turned to Caroline, "How old are you, kid?"

"Seventeen," said Caroline blankly.

"A seventeen-year-old girl to assist in saving the fate of the galaxy?" resumed Vegeta.

"My son is no imbecile! He may a bit foolish from time to time, but he has never wavered in considering the safety of others above himself. If he thinks that this girl can help us in fighting off this threat then we should be inclined to believe it too!" exclaimed Bardock boldly as he and Vegeta puffed their chests out at each other, giving the impression that they were about to go to battle.

"Hey now, who said anything about me fighting anyone? Just because Goku thinks I can help doesn't mean I have to, like, pound anybody. I don't know if you guys have noticed, but I don't exactly qualify as a Z-Warrior. Plus I don't have any powers," said Caroline as he held her hands out in front of her to try to calm the tenseness of the atmosphere.

"Exactly my point. Why would Kakarot send this weak human to help defend the Earth? Clearly this 'catalyst' has no use to us whatsoever," said Vegeta.

Caroline growled at Vegeta's never-ending insults towards her. Any more, and she thought her head would explode.

"That's not necessarily true," retorted Bardock. "I saw her fight in a vision that I had not too long ago, and I think one of those mages was in it too."

"What?" questioned Raditz.

"That's impossible! This girl can't fight!" yelled Vegeta.

"**Hey! In case you all have forgotten, I am still awaiting for you to request two wishes, and please let them be ones that I can **_**actually**_** grant,"** call Shenron, who had been patiently hovering in the sky during the whole conversation down below, which was immediately dismissed from everyone's minds.

"Well, the original wish was to send Caroline home, but since we can't do that…" trailed off Gohan.

"I've got one," said Piccolo. He then walked up to the dragon balls and looked up at Shenron and yelled, "Shenron! We wish that you give us the exact amount of time we have until the Shadow Mages and their fleets arrive on Earth!"

"**Let me see…"** began Shenron. His eyes then glowed a bright red. **"You have exactly two months, nine days, thirteen hours, forty-seven minutes and fifty-two seconds until the Shadow Mages make it to this planet."**

"_Well, that was specific,"_ thought Piccolo.

"Two months?!" dreaded Caroline.

"**Now, what is your final wish? Please make it quick, I would like to return to my realm soon,"** said the dragon.

"Oh, I know, I know!" yelled Pan as he sprinted up the Piccolo.

"Pan!" called her father.

"It's okay, Papa. It'll be a good one, I promise." Pan looked at Caroline and then faced the magical creature. She then stretched out her arms and yelled as hard as she could.

"Shenron! You said that Caroline couldn't go home until she her purpose was done, right?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"Then I wish that whenever Caroline's purpose is over, Caroline can still have the power to go back and forth from this world and her world whenever she wants to!"

Shenron's large eyes again glowed an intense red. **"Very well, your wish has been granted, but, it will only take affect once her purpose here has been completed. **

Pan then turned back to Caroline with a big smile across her face. "There! Now you can come back here anytime you like, just like you wanted!"

"_Pan…"_ thought Caroline. She then recalled what she had said to her on their way to the Lookout, about her being able to visit this place, but didn't think it would actually happen.

"**My task here is now finished. Farewell."**

Suddenly, Shenron's entire body glowed a bright yellow and then descended back down into the dragon balls. The dragon balls then flew up onto the air and each one flew into a different direction across the Earth. The sky changed back to original blue and everything returned back to normal.

"No! Wait! Come back! Bardock, you have to do something! There has to be something you can do! I can't stay here for two months!" said Caroline frantically as she clutched Bardock's shoulder straps, jerking him forwards and backwards.

"There's…nothing…I can…do," said Bardock as he spoke between each of Caroline's jerks.

"Well let's try to call on Shenron again. Maybe we can find a way to get somebody else to be the catalyst. There are probably _thousands_ of other people from my dimension who would be willing to do this," said Caroline still kept her grasp onto Bardock's armor.

"Even if there were a way to do that, we still wouldn't be able to summon Shenron for at least another six months. Up until that time, no one can use them," commented Gohan.

"Noooo!" cried Caroline. "I can't stay here! I have to get home, I have to see my family, I have to _finish school_! I only had a little more than a month left of my junior year and then I would become a senior. Even with summer vacation, I'd still miss too much work and have to be held back, and there's no way I'm going to graduate without a year after my class because of the fact that I got stuck here for six freaking months!"

As she was furiously rambling, locks of her blonde hair began to lift up and wisp around her head, following a slight breeze that seemed to revolve around her body. The Namekain and the Saiyans were the first to be aware that something was going on with Caroline's energy level. It was rising…quickly! Suddenly a transparent white aura radiated off of Caroline, though she was completely unaware since she was thinking of other things and had her eyes sealed tightly shut in anger.

"I want to go home!"

As she said the final word in her sentence, her aura projected and let off a strong gust that caught everybody by surprise. Once her rant was finished, she then knelt to the ground and clutched her chest, out of breath and drained of strength. Now instead of being angry, she was filled with disappointment and uncertainty.

"Woah! What the heck was that?' exclaimed Trunks.

"I don't know. I…I think it was Caroline!" replied Goten to his friend.

"_Well, it seemed that this girl __does__ possess an abnormal power after all. Maybe Goku really __was__ on to something,"_ thought Master Roshi.

Pan rushed to Caroline's aid, disregarding the force that she had just exerted.

"Caroline! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I…huff…think I'm okay. But…but I don't know what to do. I can't fight these mage people. I'm not good at fighting like you and your family, Pan."

"I beg to differ," said Bardock as he approached the two girls. "You might not know how to fight now, but you can learn. And regarding your power, I think that what happened in my vision and what happened just now proves that you're more than capable of using it."

"What exactly happened in your vision, father?" asked Raditz.

"I wasn't able to see every detail, but from what I could tell, Caroline was fighting one of those Shadow Mages."

"You saw me in another vision? Fighting?" inquired Caroline.

"Yep. And you weren't only fighting, but you were also flying and handling large amounts of energy."

"Really?" asked Caroline enthusiastically.

"Hmph," snorted Vegeta as he made his way to the edge of the platform.

"Dad, where are you going?" asked Trunks.

"I refuse to believe that Kakarot would send a mere child to assisted us in saving the galaxy. I don't care what kind of power those Kai's claim she has. Now, since our whole reason for being here is finished, I think the smart thing to do is train with the little amount of time we have left since Kakarot failed to inform us sooner. I suggest the rest of you all do the same," answered Vegeta as he pointed to the other Saiyans. He then flew off into the skies. Trunks then soared after his father after briefly saying his goodbyes. Even thought it all seemed untimely, Trunks knew that his father wanted his son to train with him to get stronger.

"Oh, there go my boys again. What am I going to do with them?" wined Bulma.

"He does have the right idea, though. We should begin training as soon as possible," spoke Raditz as he crossed his arms.

"Right, but for now, let's head back home. I…need to process some things," said Gohan.

"Mom's not going to like this," cringed Goten.

"She'll be more mad at Dad than anything," replied his older brother. "But let's just focus on defeating those Mages."

"Caroline, why don't you ride with Bulma in her ship, we'll talk more back at Capsule Corp.," said Bardock.

"Okay."

"I'll go too!" Pan then latched on to Caroline's arm and pulled her to the ship's door and would not cease in talking. "This is great! Just wait 'til you learn to fly, and learn some cool moves, and…" her words became indistinguishable when inside the ship. Once Bulma was ready, they then took off and headed back to the company building.

"*Sigh*, what a situation that we're in," moaned Bardock as closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"At least we know that Goku and Uub are alright," reassured Dende.

"He's right, father. I'm not quite sure what was going in Kakarot's head when he formulated this plan of his, but it will all turn out well in the end. We just need to get ourselves prepared for what's ahead. And once Kakarot comes back from his training, he'll be much stronger. This might not even that big of a threat after all! Who know's? He may be beating them as we speak!" encouraged Raditz

"I pray you're right, Raditz. You better get to your wife and tell her the news."

"What are you going to do now, father?"

"For now, I'm going to figure out how to train our catalyst."


	7. Chapter 7: Flight

Chapter 7: Flight

Within the first few hours after summoning Shenron, most had gone off to instantly begin training their hardest for the upcoming threat, and back at Capsule Corp. all that returned to the house were Bulma, Bra, Pan, and Caroline. Bardock had spent about two of those hours back at the Lookout, spreading the word of the Shadow Mages through his mind and thinking about all that both Shenron and what Master Roshi had said about his son's very unorthodox plan involving Caroline, and there was no doubt in Bardock's mind that Goku wanted her to fight. However, it was clear to see that Caroline would require extensive training in their limited time, but even if she managed to improve in those short two months, it would be a long shot. She had power, but it was still low. Still, the brief spike she demonstrated at the tower proved that it had potential to increase. He briefly wished that The Room of Spirit and Time was still working, before Piccolo destroyed it from the inside while fighting with Buu.

"_Damn that Majin Buu," _thought Bardock to himself. _"If that room were still available, it would make things so much easier."_

It wasn't long until he made it back to the front lawn of Capsule Corp. He went through the lobby and went up to the "house" portion of the building through the elevator. Once there, he tried to sense Caroline's odd energy signature. He needed to find her as soon as possible to begin her training, which hadn't been entirely thought through yet, but was interrupted by his great-granddaughter and Bra who ran up to greet him.

"Great Gramps!" exclaimed Pan as she hugged one of his legs tightly.

"Hey, kiddo," replied Bardock as he patted her little head. He then turned to the older child. "Bra, where's your mother?"

"I think she's talking with Grandpa about what that Roshi guy was talking about. They're in the lab," said Bra.

"Do you two know where Caroline went off to?"

"Oh, she's out back concentrating!" said Pan with a huge grin. "On the way back here, I told her I could teach her how to fly! She seemed really interested so I told her how to do it."

"Pan, you know it takes time for a person to concentrate hard enough to fly," rebuked her elder.

"Yeah, but all I did was tell her the basics," replied Pan.

"How long ago did all this happen?"

"Since we got here."

"But that was almost two hours ago!"

"She doesn't seem to mind. Look for yourself, Great Gramps," said Pan as she pointed to the nearby window. Bardock walked over to the glass and peered down into the large plot of grass and trees that surrounded the large stone patio. Sure enough, just a few feet away from the stone sat Caroline with her back turned to the house. The fake four-star ball was placed directly in front of her in the grass. Bardock observed as she sat there completely still. Her power level, he noticed, had gotten a bit higher than the last time he checked.

"She's just been sitting there this whole time?" he asked concerned.

"Well, at first she was standing. Maybe she's just taking a break," said Pan with a confused look.

"Well I need to go talk to her. I'm sure this whole situation isn't boding well with the poor kid," said Bardock as he walked away from the window and back through the hallway. Pan and Bra looked at each other for a moment, but then decided to continue with their previous games.

Outside, Caroline sat cross-legged on the soft grass with her head leaning sideways against her knuckles, with her elbows resting on her legs. She stared at the starred ball with tired, agitated eyes.

"_I wonder how Goku managed to swap the balls before Toriyamma got to sign one. Well, there goes my autographed prize. Now all I'm left with is this worthless toy…"_ she thought to herself.

"_**Not until your purpose here has been fulfilled,"**_ echoed back and forth in her skull.

Curiosity was the only emotion she could muster. What kind of purpose could she possibly have? What about her and her people made Goku think they were so special? And why did she have to be the first one to wish on that dang ball? True, it was a great honor, but she felt she didn't deserve it. More like she didn't qualify for it. Like she had said before, she was nothing like a Z-Fighter. She felt she had no power, despite Roshi's and Bardock's claims, and the last thing she wanted to do was fight.

She had harbored different feelings while she was soaring back to Capsule Corp. in Bulma's small hover plane, when Pan mentioned teaching her how to fly. Caroline initially jumped at the idea since Bardock said she had flown in his vision. That vision and what Master Roshi said gave forth new hope to her at that moment. She had the idea that now she could be finally be useful to someone, even the whole galaxy maybe!

Once back at Capsule Corp., Pan had instructed her that in order to fly, a person had to focus all of their "ki", into their legs and feet to allow them to levitate. Apparently any human could do it if they tried long enough so Caroline did as she was told. She took her stance, laid her arms down at her sides and curled her hands into fists in concentration. Pan then left her some privacy and went back inside the building. Caroline's stayed committed to her concentration until about an hour had passed. Then, she began to loose her enthusiasm. Fifteen minutes after that, her legs became tired and she concluded that continuing was pointless. This whole reason for her being here was pointless. All the optimism in her heart had gone away. So she sat down and thought about other things on her mind, which lead her back to her present moment.

"How's the flying lesson going?" chimed Bardock as he walked up from behind her.

"Oh, Hi. Did Pan tell you?" asked Caroline as she turned her head around to see him. She kept herself seated as she watched Bardock make his way in front of her, and cross his arms.

"Yes, she did. Nice to know you're willing to get started." He then gave a sympathetic look down at her. "How are you doing, kid?"

"I think I'm alright. Just letting it all sink in, y'know?"

Bardock nodded. "We all understand. It's been a difficult time for _all _of us."

Bardock then noticed the dragon ball. "You still have the _other_ ball, huh?"

"Figured I might as well keep it. The flying's going to need some work though. But about the training…what's the plan? Are _you_ going to train me?"

"I suppose I'm your best bet. But I'm not really sure where to start."

"What? But you're a Saiyan warrior! You should know everything about how to fight."

Bardock smirked and rubbed his chin in flattery. "Heh. I wouldn't say _'everything.'_ I _do_ know different methods of combat, but I've never actually taught the foundations or anything like that before. Usually anyone that I've trained with already has had experience. Like with my sons, I never got to teach them much when they were growing up. By the time we all were reunited, each had grown up and had their own style of fighting."

"Yeah, about that…why didn't you tell me Raditz was married? Out of all the important things you explained to me back at the park, you failed to tell me that one detail," said Caroline with her arms now propping her up on the grass with one eyebrow raised.

Bardock simply shrugged, "Hmph. Must've slipped my mind. I take it you've met Hana then?"

"Yeah she's nice…and pregnant!"

"I don't see how you could be _that_ astonished. Since Raditz lived on here, he'd have to find a mate and settle down sooner or later. I mean, I bet you didn't see Vegeta forming a family with Bulma com—well speak of the devil!" said Bardock as he quickly looked up. Caroline did the same to see both Vegeta and Trunks flying towards the building.

Seeing that Vegeta was back so soon made her insides shiver a little. It was clear that their chances of becoming friends was slim, and the insults didn't help much. So, she tried her hardest to not cause trouble and stay out of his view…starting now.

"Well, I think I better go inside and get a quick drink," she said as she shot up and sped walked to the patio door. Bardock was a bit puzzled by her sudden behavior, but then focused on the two incoming fighters,

Just a few seconds after she left, Vegeta and Trunks floated down to the grass, each looking a bit battered and had their clothes torn slightly from fighting.

"Hey Bardock," greeted Trunks with a light smile. Bardock, still standing in his spot, nodded and turned to the boy's father.

"Back so soon, eh Vegeta?" commented Bardock.

"I'm just here to get my armor and jumpsuit, and Trunks needs to get his sword. What the hell are you doing at my house anyway?" harshly asked the Saiyan prince.

"I'm here to get Caroline to begin her training," stated Bardock proudly.

"Ha! _You_ training _her_? That'll be interesting. Not that I'm making fun of your skills, but I should tell you you're going to have your hands full. You really think trying to teach that girl a thing or two about fighting will do any good in two months?"

"You think you could do a better job, Vegeta?"

"As a matter of fact, I probably could! You may know your own methods, but both my father and Frieza's best henchmen trained me, that's all those scum were ever good for! And naturally I passed down those teachings down to my son. Not that I would bother doing it with the McBride girl, though. Despite what Kakarot might see in her kind, I think it would be better just to let her watch the _real_ fighters do the work," said Vegeta with his head held high. In the midst of the Saiyan's conversation, unbeknownst to them, Caroline was listening in on the whole thing by crouching against the wall beside the patio door, which was only closed by the screen.

"_Jerk,"_ she thought.

" C'mon, Dad. Didn't you see what she did at the Lookout?" defended Trunks.

"Of course I saw it! I'm not blind! But it's still not enough to convince me of anything. So what if she can make a light breeze? It doesn't prove anything."

"_Ignore him…" _ordered Caroline in her mind.

"I still don't see how Kakarot thinks she could measure up to our ranks, sure she can loose her temper for a few brief seconds, but her mouth seems to be the only weapon she has available, just like all the other Earth women around here."

"Ignore him…" this time she was really struggling. Her eyes were sealed shut with anger.

"Besides no matter how hard you or anyone else here trains her, Bardock, chances are that that 'special power' that perverted geezer talked of was just a huge mistake. She'll just end up hurting herself. After all, she's nothing but an inexperienced, weak, annoying, ignorant human girl."

"Ignore—Aw, shrew it!"

"Alright! THAT'S IT!" screamed Caroline as she slammed open the screen door. She then quickly approached the three surprised men with her fists at her sides and her shoulders hunched over. Her eyes were firmly fixed upon Vegeta.

"Now you listen here, you lousy, arrogant, self-centered, egotistical, TROLL-HAIRED, DWARF!" she yelled with intensity, "I'm well aware that I'm weak, but that's only because I'm not a member of some thoroughly-bred super warrior race with immense strength and all that crap! What did I ever do to _you_, huh?

Even though she kept a heated temper, Caroline managed to calm her voice slightly.

"You know, at first I thought you were gonna be a lot like the Vegeta I grew up with, the one that went from being a complete jackass like yourself to one that was a much more decent person. But y'know what? You haven't changed at all! You're still the same proud, inconsiderate prick you were during the whole time leading up to your battles with Cell! I don't care how better you are at everything than me, I just need you to shut up before I explode!"

Everyone stood there with buldged, blinking eyes at the furious girl. Vegeta was the most dumfounded of them all, not knowing how to react. Caroline then turned her attention to the other full-blooded Saiyan.

"And _you_!" she said, with her voice still elevated in anger and pointing at Bardock.

"Vegeta might be a complete jerk, but he was right about one thing! I can't help you! I don't know who you saw in that stupid vision of yours, but it definitely was not me! And as for Goku, I'm not sure exactly what he was smoking when he came up with this ridiculous plan, but it was a complete waste of time!"

While Caroline was ranting, her aura flared up again, except this time it rose twice as high and was much more intense. Then wind around her became more violent. But once again, she was completely oblivious to it.

"Now I understand why so many people I know hate this show. It's because it's all crazy! _You're all crazy!_ Whatever power everybody thinks I have, it doesn't exist. It didn't exist back home and it doesn't exist here, which means I _can't_ fight, I _can't_ use energy, and I CAN'T FLYYYYYYY!" With that, the most powerful winds surfaced, and in a spit second she sprang into the sky at top speed. What once was her yell in anger now turned into a yell of surprise. Her scream faded as she flew further and further up from the building. The three that remained at the bottom, with the wind in their faces, looked with still large eyes and jaws dropped. Vegeta, whose eyes were still fixed on the shrinking dot in the atmosphere known as Caroline, had his jaw almost hit the ground in disbelief.

"Well that was…odd," Bardock then said.

"Uh…shouldn't we…I don't know, go get her?" asked Trunks who almost mirrored his father's expression.

"No, let her stay up there for a minute. She needs to realize the strength she possesses for herself," said Bardock as he watched the skies.

Caroline continued to shoot further up into the blue and looked down to see the surrounding area get smaller and smaller below her. She didn't know what was scarier, falling _down_ hundreds of feet or flying _up_ hundreds of feet.

"No wait! WAIT! Stooooop!"

As if her body obeyed her command, she came to a screeching halt in mid air. Her aura then vanished and cool wind went by as she looked around. Once she realized how high up she really was, she began to panic.

"Whoever's idea of a joke this is, this isn't funny!" she screamed down below. No answer. Absolutely nothing.

"Guys? C'mon! Someone get me down! Please? Guys! Get me DOWN!" Caroline's body obeyed her again and she slowly eased downward. In her panic, it caused her to again freeze in the air.

"What the…?" She then decided to experiment. She then jerked herself a few feet from side to side and then flew a few feet up and a few feet down. As long as she focused on staying up, she stayed up. If she thought about moving down or anywhere else, then she moved down or anywhere else. That's when she finally understood.

"I…I can fly!" Then one of the biggest smiles she ever produced went from ear to ear. Her heart raced with joy and excitement. She was doing what most people back home thought was impossible. Once again her aura reappeared and covered her entire body as her heart was flooded with emotion.

"I don't believe it! Haha! I'm doing it! I'm really doing it!"

Back on the ground the three Saiyans were still looking through the skies for the girl.

"Bardock, do you think she's alright up there?" asked Trunks.

"Well, she's not flying up any further or falling down…," Bardock replied as he used a hand to block the sun from his eyes. Suddenly he noticed that she was starting to move, straight towards them. "Wait a minute…"

In a flash, she zoomed past them all with a gust to follow.

"I CAN FLY!" she yelled as she flew all around the yellow, circular building, testing out her new ability.

She then quickly flew in the direction of the city as fast as she could. Bardock and the others watched from below. Pan, after hearing the commotion ran outside to see what was going on and saw that Caroline was airborne.

"Oh my gosh! She's flying! Hurray!" she said as she waved her hands in praise.

"_Now_ we go get her," said Bardock. Trunks nodded and both took to the air and went after Caroline.

"I don't believe this," scoffed Vegeta with a twitching eye. He too took off also to Satan City.

Caroline made it to the nearest skyscrapers in almost no time, enjoying the breeze against her face. She was no longer afraid of being flown at high speeds. This time, she was the one doing the flying and was in complete control. She looked at the busy streets below, filled with people and vehicles. Once she completely covered over the city, she noticed the nearby ocean. She had never actually seen or been to the ocean before. Her and her family had gone to Lake Michigan for vacation at least twice, but it was nothing compared to the body of water before her. She then flew past the sandy beaches, littered with tall palm trees. She flew out to the sea where she soared low so she could stretch down her arm and let her fingers cut through the cold salt water. She had finally seen the ocean and was flying over it. Best. Moment. Ever.

She then decided to land on a nearby cliff side, covered in forests that stood by the shore just a few miles away from the city. She descended to the soil as carefully as she could, attempting to land on one foot. Unfortunately, she came in too fast and tripped on a rock. She stumbled, but managed to stick the landing. Never had she been so proud of herself.

"I did it! I can't believe I did it! I can fly! I can—wait what the—" she then noticed the light blue glow that covered her body. She laid both arms out to see the streaks of light emitting from them.

"So this is my aura, huh? Guess Master Roshi was right! I actually do have some kinda power!" She then looked from her glowing hands to the sea. A thought suddenly struck her.

"I wonder…" she began as she stood up straight, with her feet apart and her right arm positioned straight for the open water. She then narrowed her eyes and again tried to concentrate, trying to fix all of the energy she had into the center of her hand.

"_It's all about concentration, right? Just imagine a ball of energy there and soon it'll happen. Now just focus, Caroline. Focus…"_ she told herself.

For a moment nothing happened, nothing but the sounds of waves and seagulls. Caroline then tightly closed her eyes and constricted all the muscles in her right arm until she felt something warm on the palm of her hand. When she opened them, she cheered to find a white sphere of energy in her right hand just as she had wanted. It was slightly larger than a softball, brilliant and beautiful.

"Caroline!" yelled Bardock as he, Trunks and Vegeta closed in on her at the cliffs. His voice caught the poor girl by surprise. She squealed and flung both arms upward completely forgetting the energy ball. It shot up in the air and then curved to the left downward and plunged straight into the ocean water with a loud boom. What was left behind was a temporary dent in the water and steam that hid most of the ripples in the waves.

Again, Bardock, Trunks, and Vegeta's jaws dropped at what they had just seen; this time Caroline did it too. Her aura once again vanished.

"What the hell was _that_?!" asked Bardock to Caroline from above with wide eyes.

"Uh… a ki blast?" feebly answered the blushing Caroline as she kicked some dirt.

"Wow, you can do that too? That's awesome!" exclaimed Trunks as he landed on the ground.

"Alright, I've had just about enough of this nonsense!" snapped Vegeta as he landed and walked up to Caroline. She thought about flying away, but it was too late, he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her with him to the edge of the cliff.

"You're coming with me! It's time you started training since you seem so eager to start flying off on these little adventures of yours!"

"Huh?" gasped Caroline.

"I thought you said you wouldn't do it!" opposed Bardock.

"Well I've changed my mind. You've never had experience training children anyway. You'd be put through hell," said Vegeta. "Seems McBride here has more fight in her then I've estimated, which might _actually_ make her an intriguing pupil. And more importantly, _I'm_ the only one who seems most fitted to teach this kid how to fight like an elite Saiyan. Besides, if Kakarot thinks he can take that _village boy_ to train right out of the blue just because he thought the kid had potential, then why can't _I_ with _her_?" he concluded. Apparently a bit of that rivalry between him and Goku still lingered.

"B-But Father, do you really think this is a good idea? And what about _our_ training?" questioned Trunks, well aware of his father's and Caroline's rocky acquaintanceship.

"Oh, don't worry, son," assured Vegeta as he pulled Caroline up with him in the air, " Once I whip this girl into top physical shape, which won't take too long, you'll get to train with me. In the mean time you might as well go spar with Goten. He could use the practice. And as for you, Bardock, someone's going to have to train with that pineapple-headed son of yours."

Bardock remained silent and didn't answer. He looked at Caroline, who was looking back at him with a frightened expression.

"_Please don't let him train me! Please don't let him train me! Please, __please__ don't let him train me!"_ she begged to him in her mind.

"_It'll be alright, Caroline,"_ responded Bardock in her thoughts.

"_Bardock? Are you…are you in my head?"_

"_Yes I am, but don't worry about Vegeta. You're right about him being a bit of a jackass, but deep down, he's got a good heart. I'm confident you'll learn the most from him. I just didn't think he'd actually agree to it."_

"_Are you insane? After what I've said to him he'll probably kill me!"_

"_He's been called worse, trust me. Now just do what he says. Remember, both my son and the galaxy are counting on you for your help. Keep that in mind and you'll go far with your training."_

"_But…But…"_

"What are you, deaf? Come on now, if you can fly off merrily into the horizon one time you can do again! I'm not dragging you all the way back," snapped Vegeta. Caroline obeyed him and floated on her own with a disappointed frown.

"Good," approved Vegeta. "Come along, Trunks," he ordered. Reluctantly, his son did as he was told and soon they all were off, except for Bardock who stayed where he was, watching the three disappear.

"_Good luck, kid. I know you can do it,"_ said Bardock using his telekinetic powers one more time with Caroline. That was all he could say. With that, Caroline flew off with Vegeta, her new teacher, and Trunks back to Capsule Corp.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the heavenly realms of the Otherworld, inside a large, white palace sat the great King Kai and his two animal companions, Gregory the cricket and Bubbles the monkey. All three were having a quite cup of tea, well, Bubbles was busy enjoying some crackers and messing around with an empty tea cup. King Kai sighed and found himself very fatigued. With all the trouble going on with the nearby galaxies and Goku's inability to communicate with him, he hadn't been able to get much rest. With a lot on his mind, he sighed heavily and was about to sip his tea until a familiar voice startled him.

"_King Kai! Are you there, King Kai?"_ asked Bardock.

"Gyah!" yelped King Kai as he caused some of the hot tea to spill on his clothes.

"Oh, hot, hot, hot!"

"Did I call at a bad time?"

King Kai then pulled himself together after dabbing the wet marks with a napkin. "Not at all, Bardock. Long time no see, old friend," he said as he sipped his tea.

"_Yeah, it has been a while hasn't it. By the way," _his voice then showed a hint of anger,_ "when were you planning on telling any of us down here that our galaxy was in danger?"_

King Kai instantly spit out his tea on to Gregory, Bubbles, and the rest of the table.

"What! You mean to tell me you just found out about the Shadow Mages and what not?"

"_That's what I was implying,"_ replied Bardock.

"But…But I told Goku about it _months ago_! I thought for sure he would've told you the minute after _I told him_!"

"_Well he did tell somebody..."_

"And just who did he tell?" asked King Kai, angry.

"_Roshi."_

"Why just Roshi?"

"_Because he damned sure can keep a secret."_

"You mean to tell me Goku didn't tell _anyone else_ before he went off to train?"

"_No. No he did not."_

King Kai arose from his chair extremely agitated. "Argh! I don't believe this! That only leaves you all on Earth a short amount of time to prepare! What would possess Goku to do such a thing?"

"_Well he did manage to send us some…reinforcement in case something went wrong"_

"What do you mean by 'reinforcement?" asked the master with a raised brow.

"_You're aware of the catalysts that the Shadow Mages are after, right?"_

"Of course! That's the whole reason they're orchestrating this galactic crusade! If they somehow find the realm that contains them, it could be catastrophic! They're entity could be set free and wreak havoc upon the every universe in Creation! Why do you ask?"

"_We have one."_

King Kai stood there silent for a moment, "Come again?"

"_My son found a way to send one of them here with the dragon balls."_

"But…but why would he do that? I specifically told him that those mages should be prevented from obtaining a catalyst at all costs! Once they reach Earth, the catalyst could be easily targeted! It could doom us all!"

"_I honestly wish I could tell you what he was thinking. But apparently, they're supposed to house a lot of power. Maybe even enough to defeat the mages, according to Elder Kai anyway. I've seen first hand that they have some sort of strong energy. Luckily, this one's taken our side in this war."_

"Well that's…that's wonderful! So what's he like?" asked King Kai with a grin.

"What?"

"Tell me a little about him, silly! I'm certain Goku picked a strong warrior from their world, one with as much strength and knowledge about fighting as he has! I'll bet he and Goku together'll scare the _pants_ off those rotten mages for sure!" exclaimed King Kai eagerly.

"…"

"Something wrong, Bardock?"

"Well…"

Several minutes later…

"WWHHHAAAATT! A TEENAGE GIRL? A TEENAGE GIRL WITHOUT ANY EXPERIENCE ABOUT FIGHTING WHATSOEVER?"

"_That's pretty much it."_

King Kai was red-faced and sweating. He placed his hand on the table to try to support himself, thinking he just might faint.

"Darn it, Goku! Oh I swear that boy's gonna give me a heart attack someday and cause me to kill over," he then said.

"But sir," jumped in Gregory, " technically you're already dea—"

"Don't remind me!" snapped King Kai.

He then stood back up and shook his fists at the sky.

"Grrr. Goku! You brainless oaf! How could you do this to us?" he yelled into the purple sky. But once again regained his composure and placed his hands behind his back.

"Ahem! No offence, Bardock," he then apologized.

"Oh trust me, I was just as infuriated as you were. But in my son's defense, her being picked was sort of random. There was really no way of choosing. But aside from that, I actually see some hope in her."

"Well that's good to hear. I suppose you're the one training her then?"

"No, Vegeta will be training her. He…volunteered."

"Vegeta? Don't you think his methods might be a little…harsh?"

"That might just be what she needs."

"Well I won't question your judgment. But for now, even though you won't be training her, I'd like for you to look out for her until Goku returns. She'll need guidance during this difficult time. You're one of the wisest protectors the Earth has, and she already seems to trust you sooooo…"

"Sure. No problem, King Kai."

"Glad to see that's settled. Now, I wouldn't want to keep you from your _own_ training, but is everyone else now aware of the situation as well?"

"Yes, They've all gotten the message."

"Excellent! Thank you for bringing all of this to my attention, Bardock."

"Like I said, no problem. I have to go now. Take care, old friend."

"So long. And good luck."

The line between the two them cut off and King Kai was by himself once more.

He sat back down in his seat and rested his exhausted head in his palm and again sighed deeply, and then thought:

"This is bad. I had absolutely no idea about all this. What kind of a Kai am I? Well, self pity aside, we're running out of time! Goku, I know you've done some crazy things before, but this one takes the cake, no, the whole bakery! I'm not sure what outcome you think will transpire with this agenda of yours, but it better be a good one…for the universe's sake!

**AN: Hope you guys liked this chapter! Stay tuned for the next one!**


	8. Chapter 8: And So The Training Begins

AN: Guess who's back? I know, it took more time than I wanted, but Tale of Ages is back on board, and I now have artwork to accommodate the story. The link can be found on my profile page. Enjoy the long awaited new chapter! Finally some combat action, folks!

Chapter 8: And So The Training Begins…

Both Caroline and Vegeta arrived back at Capsule Corp. and made their way through the building and back to the elevator. Trunks had been ordered by his father to head off to the Son's residence to begin training with Goten. Caroline was silent the entire time and didn't for a second look at her new "instructor," who had that never fading serious (or annoyed) look on his face. He too was silent until he reached the floor of his choosing. They both stepped into the hallway that led to laboratory.

"Wait here," Vegeta said sternly. He then walked out of view for a few minutes but then returned, visibly with nothing retrieved. He and Caroline then stepped back into the elevator and they began to go further up.

Caroline noticed it was exactly one floor higher from the living quarters. _This_ floor was what most people who stayed or worked in Capsule Corp. would call "Vegeta's Floor." And for good reason, considering the only thing Caroline saw as the elevator doors opened was just a small lounge area, and behind it was a wall with nothing but an oval-shaped door that had a wheel for a handle with one small circular window on the top. And above that was a small, red alarm light that was only turned on while the room was in use.

"The Gravity Room," Caroline said softly.

"Yes, this will be were you will spend the majority of your training, as will I," replied Vegeta as he took a small capsule from his pant pocket which he supposedly took from the lab. "We should begin immediately."

"R-really? You mean, like, right now?"

"Of course now, you dolt! Did you not hear a _word_ that blasted dragon said? We only have two months to prepare before this so called 'threat' arrives."

He then pushed down the cap of the capsule then dropped it, but before it reached the floor, it burst into a puff of smoke revealing a metal suitcase. He then knelt down and opened it. Caroline's jaw dropped slightly at the white and yellow Saiyan armor along with a black body suit that was revealed to be inside. Beside those where a pair of white gloves and boots. It all looked exactly like Vegeta's old uniform when he fought with Frieza on Namek.

"If you're going to be trained to fight like a Saiyan, then it would only be fitting for you to dress as one. This is one of the replicas of Saiyan armor that Bulma has created over the past few years. It'll protect your body from sustaining moderate damage as your exercises get more rigorous."

"You sure it'll fit me?" Caroline asked as she picked the armor up examine it. It seemed a few sizes too small.

"It stretches. Now put those on and meet me in the room. Then we'll begin." Vegeta then made his way to the door.

"Vegeta wait!"

"What?" he answered irritably.

Caroline nervously circled a finger around her armor. "I'm uh…sorry for what I said before. Y'know, the whole 'egotistical, troll-haired dwarf' thing. I don't know exactly why I snapped like that. I'm usually not a very _loud _kinda person."

"Clearly," replied Vegeta sarcastically.

"Buuut…" continued Caroline with eyes narrowed in slight agitation, " It showed me that I've actually got powers and I need to learn how to use them. I know you don't find me as the best person in the world, but seeing everything that's going on, I wanna help in any way I can." She then bowed to him out of respect. "I'm grateful and honored for you offering to train me and I'll try my best to learn whatever you have to teach me." Then, she suddenly sprang her body up straight again and extended her hand towards him with a smile.

"So for both our sakes, why don't we start things over? Friends?" She kept her hand out hoping he would do the same and shake it in agreement. After a short pause Vegeta simply scoffed and turned to open the door leaving Caroline's hand hanging and her face in disbelief.

"Let's just see how this all goes. You certainly have your way with words, but I wouldn't be expressing your gratitude to me just yet. If you want to learn under me, then you've got plenty of hard, strenuous work ahead. You won't see me as much of a friend for very long. Now suit up," Vegeta ordered as he stepped into the room. It clanged shut behind him and Caroline looked down at her armor and then back at the door in a blank stare.

"I'll take that as a good 'maybe'," she said as she prepared to get on her body suit. She then dawned on something. Uub was a kid who was quickly brought into the story with untapped potential just like her, and Goku became committed to train him. Vegeta, being the one who was always eager to compete with Goku, would probably love the chance to show his rival how much better of a teacher he could be for a kid similar to Uub's situation, not counting his own children. She then knew that if that were the case, which it probably was, Vegeta would be downright driven to keep her as his pupil. There was no getting out of it at this point.

Once fully dressed, she looked herself over in a full body mirror in the lounge area. The armor felt as light as paper and fit her comfortably. She definitely didn't look like an average human anymore, and she wasn't sure how she felt about the skin-tight suit, but all in all, she seemed a bit more intimidating.

She sighed._ "Well, I guess it's official then, I'm Vegeta's Uub,"_ she told herself in her head.

Several minutes later…

"Alright kid, first thing's first…You ever trained for anything before?" asked Vegeta leaning against the round walls of the gravity room with his arms crossed. The whole place was just a huge, empty round room with a few windows and a machine in the center, hooked from the floor all the way up to the ceiling.

"Like?" Caroline asked back as she stood at the other side of the room awkwardly.

Vegeta sighed in annoyance. "Have you been involved in any martial arts? Earth sports? You don't look that out of shape so you must do _something_."

"I'm just not a heavy eater, but I _did_ take gymnastics for a couple years when I was little. Does that count?"

"I take it you're fairly flexible then?" asked Vegeta with a raised brow.

"I can still do cartwheels and junk, although it's been a while. I've kept myself active mostly because of gym class at my school."

"Done anything of the fighting variety?"

"Nope."

"So you have no fighting experience and the only _impressive_ things you can do is put a leg behind your head and perform flimsy balancing tricks?" assumed Vegeta with his eyebrows furrowed.

"I haven't tried putting a leg behind my head in while, but I'm sure I can do it." She then sat on the ground and attempted to wrap her leg around her neck with ease.

"Enough of that! Pay attention, you simpleton!" Vegeta growled. "I'm going to teach you four rules of combat that I have personally devised out my own experience that can turn _anyone_ into a warrior like myself," he announced proudly. Caroline simply stared up at him with her leg still swung around her neck. "Each week," he continued, " I will present you with a new rule and will then teach you how to fight by that rule."

"Don't you think it'll take me a little more than a week to learn a rule?"

"Not with me doing the teaching. Trust me, you'll learn 'em."

He then raised one finger. "Rule number one: Find the power behind the pain. You will almost always get injured in a battle. As a Saiyan, each time I am beaten to near death, my power increases. A human like yourself does not have that sort of luxury. However, pain can always be used as an advantage. It can keep you alert and focused if you channel it properly in battle. The more pain you endure, the more tolerant to it you become, making you able to withstand higher levels of it. It allows you to push yourself to greater lengths. Also, experiencing pain from previous fights teaches you to not make the same mistakes you did before. It makes you a bit smarter each time, which I'm hoping for in your case."

"So, will I have t—"

"Rule number two," he raised another finger, "Control your emotions. I think we're _both_ going to enjoy this one. A Saiyan is only allowed to use one emotion on the battlefield: anger. Rage will without a doubt provide that extra push to ensure victory. Strong emotions such as rage are what allowed I and the other Saiyans to achieve the Super Saiyan level. With that said, there _is_ a downside. Unrestricted anger can be very costly. With enough power, it can jeopardize your mission and take out everything important to you. Therefore, you must master control. And since you react so well to my _charming comments_, I've got just the thing to help you practice."

Caroline then rolled her eyes, "Fantastic."

"Just consider it a necessary part of your training. Rage seems to be the trigger to unleash your power. Your goal is to harness your anger and unlock that hidden strength whenever you choose."

"Rule number three: Never underestimate your opponent. I can give you hundreds of examples demonstrating how important that rule is."

"Like when you underestimated Cell in his perfect form?"

Vegeta furrowed his brows with a sour glare.

Caroline stared back at the floor. "I'll be quiet now."

"Bottom line, never assume your opponent is weaker than you. You never know what tricks they may have up their sleeves. You could wind up dead because of that sort of stupidity.

"And finally rule number four: Never give up during a battle, that goes for fleeing in the middle of a battle as well. Fear, like rage, is an emotion that can cause some very dramatic changes on the battlefield. Do not submit yourself to it. If you surrender without giving it your all, then you're a disgrace and coward. Better to die with dignity trying than to flee and live the rest of your life in shame. And if I catch _you_ running away from your enemy simply because you're scared, I'll save your adversary the trouble and kill you myself. Clear?"

"Y-yes sir," replied his pupil feebly.

"Good. Now that we've reviewed our schedule, we can begin. Now, on your feet, McBride. It's time for your first lesson." He then turned his back to Caroline, cracking his knuckles as his student stood herself up. "I hope you warmed up a little before you came in here."

"Why would I—"

"Dodge!"

POW!

In a split second, Vegeta swept around and kicked her straight in the gut. It sent her body skidding halfway across the room. If it weren't for her armor, it probably would have hurt worse than it already did. Still, the throbbing made her gag and shake. However, she managed to pick herself back up quickly with a face painted with hatred.

"What the HELL?!"

"Just because you're a woman doesn't mean I'm going to go easy on you," said Vegeta with his arms again crossed with his usual frown. "I can teach you every move I know, but real, successful fighting comes from experience. Like I said before, learning from your pain can give you power, attain from it. I want you to use both your instincts and your imagination. Don't worry though, these sessions won't cripple you, but they will teach you how to deal with the discomfort and toughen your body. Now that you've gotten some time to collect yourself, it's your turn. Hit me back if you can."

Caroline stood still, knowing she wouldn't be able to touch him.

"C'mon, we haven't got all day," he taunted.

Caroline then clenched her fists. She might not have fought a day in her life, but she had observed others do it. She had seen people on T.V. do it, she had seen _Vegeta_ do it. Since she wasn't exactly a normal human being, she thought for a brief moment that she had a chance. Just like Vegeta had told her, she had to use her imagination.

She then darted for him with a fist ready to swing. She anticipated missing, which she did but then tried to counteract his movement with a high kick, but missed again. Every round of punches and kicks that she delivered were received by nothing but air. She was too slow for him. In her frustration, she put more energy into her attacks in an effort to increase speed, but it didn't seem to work. Trying to guess his next move wasn't going well for her. She felt completely outclassed by him, but still attempted to strike him. Vegeta made her punch and kick all the way around the room before actually allowing a foot to reach him.

He allowed one of Caroline's roundhouse kicks to hit, but he propped his forearm up in defense to block his face. It was the same circle around the room as before with a few stops every so often, the only difference was Vegeta blocking each one of Caroline's advances without a hint of difficulty. This just made Caroline more infuriated as fatigue crept it's way through her body.

"_Well now he's just humoring me. Why doesn't he just hit me again and get it over wi—"_

"Dodge!"

He then hand knifed the left side of her face, which again sent her tumbling to the floor. This time she wiped blood from her chin, not just saliva. Vegeta then towered over her, despite his short stature, with a scowl.

"When I say 'dodge,' what do I want you to do?"

"Dodge," she replied with her narrowed eyes on the ground.

"Glad to know we got the message across. Did that hurt by the way?"

"You don't see the blood on my face? Of course it hurt!"

"Good. Use the pain as a reminder to watch your surroundings. You're quick with attacks, but that's all you're focused on. You should always expect the unexpected when fighting. Otherwise, you're going to keep getting hit."

"I get that. Again?"

"Again."

"How long will these training sessions last?"

"However long I want them to. Now go again!" Vegeta replied harshly.

The routine continued for what seemed like hours with limited conversation, and the majority of _that_ was just Vegeta barking orders at her to keep going at him.

Their first session surprisingly ended quickly around dinner. Bulma declared all out war on her husband after hearing of he and Caroline's unpredicted agreement and already seeing marks on her face and limbs after just one day. But no matter how much she yelled at him, the man stood his ground. In their defense, Caroline tried to explain that she accepted being his pupil, but was unsuccessful. Trunks finally stepped in and sat his mother down and explained to her the events of what had happened earlier that day, about Caroline's newfound powers. Caroline then demonstrating to Bulma her ability by creating a small energy ball in between her hands.

"Oh…my word!" Bulma gasped.

"Y'see? I can do it. I'm not sure how, but I can."

"But honey, I can't just sit here and let this sort of thing happen. You're just a girl. Goku's just an absolute idiot if he honestly expects to pluck a kid from their home and expect them to fight like he does. It's insane! That bruise on your forehead was just starting to go away and now there's even more of them on your face! None of this seems right, I mean, I've never even supported Vegeta training our _own_ children!"

"It's alright, Mom. Dad knows what he's doing," Trunks assured.

Caroline, too, tried to comfort her. "I agreed to this, Bulma. Don't worry about me. His main goal is to make me a strong fighter. I have to be ready when the time comes, and he'll get me there. He won't kill me. I don't _think_ he will anyway…"

The next day, Caroline was abruptly woken out of bed by Vegeta around 6:00 in the morning and ordered to dress into her armor and get to the Gravity Room. He told her that if she failed to at least dodge one of his attacks then she would go without breakfast and lunch. She was already feeling the effects of yesterday and it made any sudden movements very difficult. Try as she might, she seemed just as slow as before. Each round only left Caroline with more bruises and less blood. She was astonished that she hadn't lost any teeth yet, but no one in this world appeared to, no matter how many hits to the face they took, and for that she was incredibly thankful. The pain however was always present, and it wasn't long before she felt it everywhere, but it apparently wasn't enough to prevent her from moving. Despite her soreness and wounds she was intent on being rewarded her greatly desired food. Unfortunately, no matter how long the "sparing" persisted she would inevitably end up face or backside first on the floor with a new mark.

"_Alright, screw what I said to Bulma! This man's trying to kill me!"_ she screamed in her head as she made her way to her feet. She didn't get it. If she could fly and throw energy blasts then why couldn't she fight worth a lick. Where was the power that everyone said she possessed? How was she supposed to prevent Vegeta from treating her like a punching bag?

Kick, after punch, after kick, it was the same deal. She tried her best to finally lay a hit on him but it was no use, she would either be avoided or blocked. Vegeta was surprisingly silent for most of the session, only to yell at her to continue to strike at him or if she took too long getting up from another failed dodge. She got up and attempted again but it always ended with the same line every time.

"DODGE!"

WHACK!

Vegeta phased behind her and before she could react, he kicked her in the back and her chin was the first to hit the tile. This was the last straw, day two and she was already down for the count. With no energy from breakfast and her muscles tightening up from stress, her endurance timed out. It was too much to handle and her body refused to move.

"Yep…definitely…trying to kill me," she wheezed.

Vegeta could see her agony but was unmoved. Once more, he stood over her with his arms crossed in disapproval.

"Get off your ass and go again! I don't know about you but I'm getting tired of repeating myself."

"Then pick something else to say," she spat back.

"Not until you actually dodge me. If you want to avoid getting hit, you must put in more effort. If you really want to avoid any more pain, you will put more effort in preventing the pain from reaching you. Or do you just enjoy all your time on the ground?"

"I can't _give_ anymore of an effort! What kind of a trainer wakes his trainee up way early in the morning, _without breakfast_, and expects them to dodge blows that come so fast _you can even see them_?! You're doing too much to me here!" Caroline yelled with her hands and knees still on the floor quivering.

"Battles are harsh. You need to understand that. We don't have the time to leisurely tone whatever skills you may possess. They'll come about as we continue. Show me that you can conquer the physical pain you feel and adapt to it. Right now, I'm far from impressed," Vegeta said bluntly. "Up!"

His pupil slowly wobbled up on her two feet.

"As for your meals," he added, " I figured they could be a little extra motivation. Let's see if it works…Now let's go!

Caroline wearily did as she was told and once again got up and tried again. But to her dismay, the session continued without her dodging anything. She tried to be creative this time and put some of her gymnastics skills to the test. Upon trying to predict Vegeta's ever-illusive strikes, she used the flexibility in her legs and back to allow the rest of her body to weave and bend to deliver blows to different places of her teacher's body at above average speed, which caused Vegeta to merely raise a brow. She even considered at one time going straight for the groin as hard as she could, but then found the idea to be pointless as a high kick to the chin sent her flying backwards, but there was a change. Instead of flopping all over the floor like a fish on land gasping for water, she placed both her hands on the floor to redirect the momentum and pushed her weight upward to allow two backwards cartwheels. After her second flip, she planted her feet to ground and then immediately fired a good sized white energy ball directly at her teacher, a small unexpected present for the trouble he was putting her through.

"Dodge!" she screamed as the light shot through her hand.

Vegeta quickly made an "x" with his arms to protect his upper body. The energy detonated on impact and after a brightly lit _BOOM! _Vegeta soon faded into view still in the same position. The only damage Caroline's attack seemed to make were some burn marks on his gloves, which were still giving off some smoke. She then heard a gruff chuckle escape his mouth.

"Well, well. You finally decided to apply yourself," he said as he brushed himself off.

"Yeah, wasn't really sure I could pull it off," Caroline replied with a smirk. She readied herself in her usual fighting stance. She suddenly felt extremely confident in herself.

"However you _do_ realize that doesn't count as a dodge for you, right?"

"I know, but it was still pretty cool."

Vegeta just stared at his pupil for a moment, then chuckled again. "Tell you what…since you seem _so_ eager to test your manipulation of energy, why don't we see if you have better luck dodging _mine_ for a bit?"

"Um…what exactly does being hit with one of those things feel like?" asked Caroline, still in her stance but without her cocky smirk.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough."

And she eventually did. Vegeta managed to throw in a few dozen small energy spheres at her when the opportunity presented itself. As it turns out, being hit by a blast of energy felt the same as being doused with scalding hot water. Your body felt numb for maybe a second and then searing pain soon replaced it. Eventually, Vegeta thought he had done enough for the time being. He wanted to make sure his student was still physically capable to walk her way out of the room without collapsing, but she had again failed to dodge him. Her retaliation though, much to his surprise, improved slightly. She might not have been able to avoid his attacks, but her drive to hit him back never wavered until her body inevitably gave in. Once she exited the area, he then set adjustments to the gravity controls. It was now time for his own personal training. As she stumbled to the elevator, Caroline weakly looked up at the clock to find that it was now 9:00 a.m.

"Three hours?! Ugh!" she then fell in a nearby chair, dumbfounded by how much time was spent.

Later in the laundry room, Caroline threw her body suit into the washing machine, which she didn't care if that was how it was supposed to be cleaned or not. It could tear apart during the cycling for all she cared. It didn't do a bit of good other than preventing a couple of scratches.

"Protect my body from moderate damage, huh? What bull crap."

The only real thing that was protecting her was her armor, and that she had no idea how to wash. Since she was forbidden from eating anything except dinner, she had to find a way to keep her from concentrating on her aching body and gurgling stomach. She then decided to just clean the darn thing in the sink. She tried to wash every inch of the inside so it would ready for her next session.

"My next session…" she repeated aloud with dread. She then channeled her incoming frustration into her scrubbing.

"This is so stupid! That prick's gonna reduce me to nothing more to a bloody charred pulp before the week's over if he keeps this up. Why can't he understand that I'm just not strong enough? I'm not the same as teaching Trunks, or _anybody_ for that matter. How am I going to get stronger if I'm too busy trying to _'dodge'_?" she asked herself, repeating her teacher's quote in an intentionally goofy manner.

"So, he's got you with the 'Power in Pain' routine, huh?" asked a familiar voice from behind.

"Ack!" Caroline instantly jolted and spun around to find Bardock leaning against the kitchen island counter. In his hand was a small, brown sack.

"Am I the only one that's bothered by you doing that?" she asked the aged Saiyan angrily with her shoulders hunched.

"Hey, I was hoping Vegeta was teaching you to be more aler-Whoa!" With Caroline now facing him, Bardock could now see the world of hurt her teacher was putting her through just by quickly looking her over.

"Either you've been recently trampled over by a mob or Vegeta's really giving you a run for your money," remarked Bardock as he mentally counted the visible bruises on her. Caroline simply grumbled and went back to her armor washing.

"Tsk! I _wish_ I were trampled by a mob! At least it would only be for one day! I have to go through this for _four whole weeks straight_ apparently! God only knows what he has in store for me after that! Right now he's just trying to starve me to death."

Bardock then peered over the ranting girl's shoulder to see what she was trying to clean.

"Saiyan armor?"

Caroline then pulled it out of the water and jerked it in front of her so Bardock could get a good look at it. "Yeah. You'd think it would help me, right? _Wrong!_ I'm still getting the tar beat out of me and all I can do is stand there and take it! No matter how hard I try, I'm never gonna be able to keep up with him. There's no way I'm going to get as strong and fast as him in two months without ending up in a body cast! I already feel like I'm about to fall apart and it's only been my second day." She then lowered her face from view and began to whimper. "I don't know what to do."

"Hey, don't give up now," encouraged Bardock. "This is all part of Vegeta's plan. He's trying to see how long it'll take before you break from the pressure and quit. But that's not gonna happen."

Caroline then lifted her head in curiosity.

Bardock placed a hand on his chest plate. "Part of being a true fighter doesn't just come from strength of the body." He then smiled and tapped his right temple, "It also comes from strength of the mind. A true fighter will always have their minds set, and never let things psyche them out from achieving your goal. Vegeta knows that and he wants to test you for it. You have to show him that no matter what, you will remain dedicated to his training, which I'm sure you can."

Caroline shrugged and crossed her arms. "I'd feel a bit more dedicated if I at least had _half_ the strength he has, but he's right, I'm just a weak."

Bardock then placed the brown bag on the table and untied the rope that kept it closed. "Well, hopefully what I've got here will help even the odds a little bit in the future."

"You got something for me?" Caroline asked with intrigue.

"Just consider it a gift from Master Roshi," said Bardock as he reached through the bag.

Caroline's excitement then turned to disgust. "If it's some frilly little outfit, I'm not wearing it."

"Come on, he wouldn't …Okay he would, but that's not it."

"Is it the gift of physical invulnerability?"

"Nope."

"Well what the heck is it?" she asked impatiently.

"Tada!" Bardock then handed her what appeared to be a thick, black vest. On top of that were black arm and leg bands that had to be buttoned together. They seemed fairly light until Caroline got a hold of them. The added weight sent her straight to the ground with a thud.

"What the…!"

"They're weighted training gear. Kakarot got me into them a while back, and Roshi happened to have some lying around at Kame House. They'll help increase your strength even when doing normal activities."

"You mean I have to wear these all the time?" Caroline asked in desperation.

"Yep. The trick is to never take them off. Ever."

"What about bathing?" pondered Caroline as she studied her new gear.

"Well aside from that, but seriously, you're not going to get used to them unless your wear them continually. Each week or so, I'll give you a heavier pair to break in. After you go through the heaviest set, I guarantee you'll see a difference when you and Vegeta go at it. Now I know it seems a bit extreme, but they'll prove to actually be a ton of help for you."

He then paused and chuckled to himself. "A ton, heheheh. Weight humor."

"You're an absolute riot," said Caroline who was not at all amused.

"Jokes aside, you can do this. Just get your mind set on it. Focus on the people you're trying to protect by doing this, if that helps."

"I'll see what I can do."

"It always inspires _me_. Oh, I almost forgot." He then reached again into the bag and took out a round, much smaller brown sack.

"Here." He then tossed it to Caroline. She used the pile of weighted clothing she was trying to balance as the net to catch it.

"What's this?"

"A few senzu beans, courtesy of Korin. Those are for emergencies only. Too much at one time could be the most dangerous—"

"Yeah, yeah. Too many are life threatening, I get the jist."

"Well, seems my work here is done. I'll return soon with more weights when the time comes. In the meantime, got my own training to do." He walked to the porch door and was about to fly out.

"Bardock!"

He quickly popped his head back in. "Yeah?"

Caroline gave the man a light smile. "Thanks…" she then looked back down at the weights, "I think."

Bardock smirked back and gave a two-fingered salute. "Sure thing, kid. Adios." With that he was off.

The weights Bardock had given were filled with probably the heaviest sand on Earth. Not only did they make her look slightly ridiculous when she finally managed to strap them all on, but the posture they caused her to make didn't make things much better. It was difficult simply walk around the house and make it to her room. She flopped once more on her bed and was about to pass out from exhaustion just as she had done before yesterday, this time she sunk into the mattress about three inches deeper than normal. She sighed heavily and let her mind fade out to blankness.

"This is gonna be a loooooooooong two months."

AN: Man it feels good to be doing this again! And we finally get to see some fighting…er..training, who-hoo! And don't you worry about little Caroline. She'll buck up and bounce back like most teenagers do. With Vegeta, I tried to keep him in character as much as possible in this situation, except for the whole "dodge" thing. Ever since Team Four Star came up with that bit, I had to put a reference to it in there somehow, and I have to admit, I'm satisfied with it. I hope you readers are too! Be sure to stay tuned!


	9. Chapter 9: That Extra Push

Chapter 9: That Extra Push

Two more days of brutal, hardcore training continued with still no initial progress. The "pain" part of Vegeta's training was fully realized, all Caroline had to do now was find the power to finally avoid his attacks. At this point, everything from her head to her feet hurt along with the strained muscles from the weights, which she had to wear even when she went to bed. At night, sleep was the only thing that Caroline was starting to look forward to. One night, she came close to jumping out of bed and snatching up the small bag of senzu beans to eat one to heal her body. But as much as it conflicted her, she decided not to. She needed to learn from her pain, not take an easy way out and cheat. She knew eventually her body would adjust, it was just a matter of patience.

She did feel however feel she was getting better. The training gear did prove to have an advantage. She looked back on he day after she was handed the weights, which she tried to include with her uniform. When she stepped into the Gravity Room, Vegeta did not approve.

"What the hell are you wearing?"

"Weighted training clothes. Bardock—"

"Take those things off. When in this room, you'll be trained by my terms, not anyone else's."

"But I'm 'spose to-!"

"Now!"

"Fine! I'm taking 'em off, geez!"

So, one at a time, she unstrapped each weight. Much to Caroline's surprise, once all the weights were off, she felt so…light!

This made quite a difference during this session in particular. Once the sparing had started, she was much more agile then the previous times. She was slightly more quick to make her moves. Outside of the Gravity Room she had wondered if she could use her energy to increase whatever superhuman speed she was capable of, just like what the other Z-Fighters could. So she experimented and mentally tried to picture the energy flowing through her arms legs to give her strength, and for a time it was seemingly starting to work now that her body was free from the weights. She even came close to swinging herself away from one of Vegeta's punches. She could see it coming, but was still not quite fast enough to dodge it and was hit each time. By now, the implied "dodge" no longer needed to be clarified by Vegeta. He knew that she got the idea by now and he slowly began to recognize her improvement with each day. She seemed bent on continuing with him, and for a human with special abilities, training to him was going along just as he had planned.

Presently, she was sleeping in her bed, sore and practically pinned to the mattress in her weakened state. Snow had found his way into her room and comfortably nestled on top of her stomach. Another training day had come and gone, and now the only productive thing she could do now was rest and dream.

At first her dreams were nothing but blackness, accompanied by faint flashes of shapes and shadows, but they soon formed into blurry memories of her life back on her Earth, or at least they felt like memories. She saw herself, her mother, father, sister and brother with faces all smiling and enjoying whatever it was they were doing. It was like watching a film in slow motion, and for a time, she thought it was all real. Then a voice all too clear broke into the dream.

"_Moments like those are a beautiful thing, aren't they?"_

Suddenly, it all began to fade until it was again black. She found herself standing in the middle of the abyss, but with no floor to stand on. She then looked to her right and saw a man with wild black spikes for hair and an orange and blue uniform standing beside her. He was still looking in the direction of were Caroline's memories were once shown with a smile.

"_Huh?"_ Caroline gasped in shock. _"Goku?"_

"_They might not seem all that important at the time, but for some people, it's all that keeps them going. The strength you get from loved ones…"_ he then turned to face Caroline's with a grin_, "I bet you__ could recite practically __**all**__ the times they've kept __**me**__ going when times got tough!" _He then noticed Caroline gawking at him with large, excited eyes. _"Hm?"_

"_Is…is it really you, Goku?"_ her expression then changed from admiration to anger, _"Cause if it is, prepare for an earful!"_ she said rolling up her sleeves in a manner to hostility. _"You got a lot of nerve bringing me into this the way that you did! Do you have any idea how worried everybody is about you right now? Where the heck have you been?"_

All the legendary fighter could give as a response was a light nervous laugh.

"_**Seriously**! Are you real or not?"_

"Goku" smiled and crossed his arms behind his head._ "Maybe I'm the real Goku and maybe I'm not. I __**could**__ be the real Goku, but the one from __**this**__ world and the one __**you **__already know are both pretty much the same person, don't you think?" _he said with a huge, cheerful grin.

Caroline sighed_. "With that answer, there's no way you're real. Goku would never say something like that. Guess the exhaustion from all the training's finally making me start to hallucinate. Maybe I __**should**__ eat one of those senzu beans…"_

"_Having a bit of trouble huh?"_

Caroline shrugged her shoulders._"I need to finish a task in less than a couple days, and I need to be as fast and as strong as possible to do it. I'm getting better…__**a lot**__ better than I thought I would, actually, considering the short amount of time. But I can't get that little extra push to do it. You…the __**real**__ you, your friends, your dad, even __**Vegeta**__ think that I have all this power, but I don't know how to use it. I can't get it to come out no matter how badly I need it."_

"_Maybe you don't, at least not now anyway. You don't have to give off vast amounts of energy all the time, but only if it's really necessary. Y'know, with great power comes great responsi—"_

"_Okay, now I **know** you're imaginary."_

"_But the power's there. It's there in everybody, and there are many ways to tap into it."_

"_Like thinking about the people you're trying to protect?"_

"_Yeah, exactly!"_

"_That's what your dad suggested."_

"_And he's got a good point. Just think about what life would be like if the people you loved were taken way from you. If your whole world were taken away…"_

Goku then vanished and Caroline panicked in the darkness.

"_Wait! C-come back!"_

Suddenly the pitch black in front of her shifted. It again showed the images of Caroline's loved ones, but now new images appeared at a very fast pace, images filled with carnage, the destruction of cities, blood-stained lifeless faces of people she had never even met. Screams of thousands of innocent people filled her ears, and even though she pressed her hands against them as hard as she could, the noise was as clear as ever.

"_What…is all this?"_ she asked desperately.

As it all flashed in front of her, "Goku's" voice echoed in her brain louder than the others, his voice now cold and serious.

"_If you can remember, these similar thoughts raced around my head when I was almost at the end of my rope when battling Frieza, battling him the way **you** remember it. Imagining what Freiza might have done to Earth if he won gave me the strength to continue fighting. You may not have realized this yet, but these visitors coming, they intend to conquer any and every world…if they succeed in finding the dragon balls, they could gain the power to invade anywhere they want, including your universe, your galaxy, **your own planet**. If you want to help me and the others prevent this, you must look deep within yourself in order to grasp your inner power. You have it inside of you, just believe you have it, or you may never be able to see your world again…or the people in it."_

The images began to move so fast, they almost couldn't be made out into anything anymore and flooded Caroline's vision. The noises were also coming together to make one loud hum that made her skin crawl. She then could hear the screams of her beloved baby brother crying out in pain for her.

"_Sissy! __**Sissy**__!"_ wept the unseen boy.

"_Jeremy? No! Stop it! Stop it! **STOP IT**!"_

"NO!"

As soon as she was able to shut her eyes in her dream, she instantly woke up in her room, with Snow looking down on her with his curious, big green eyes.

"Mrow?"

She finally began to breath again and ease herself. "Oh thank God, it was just a dream!" Caroline huffed as she lay still, trying to catch her breath. She then sat herself up, picked up Snow and held his little furry body close to her chest. "…more like a nightmare," she added.

Both sat there quietly for a moment with Caroline lost in a haze, re-picturing the horrors in her head, of all the death and destruction until something finally snapped her out of the trance. She again picked up the cat so he could be eye level with her. Instead of dread, she had a determined smile on her face.

"Snow, I think I finally know what to do."

The Next Day…

"Alright McBride, are you ready for this?" Vegeta asked as he stood before his pupil, ready for another session.

"Yeah just a sec," Caroline replied as she finished stretching her legs. She had learned quickly that warming up before training did her quite a bit of good, unlike on her first day. She loved the liberating feeling that she got whenever she took the training gear off. Made her feel as light as a feather. It made these training periods almost enjoyable.

"Okay I'm ready." She formed her stance.

"Good, lets get on with it then. Your move."

"_Okay, this is it. All I have to do is focus, focus as hard as I possibly can. No matter how hard of a beating I'm gonna get I have to fight through the pain. No matter what, this is the day I dodge him. If he honestly expects me to do it in less then a week, then I'll find a way to do it. Please be smart about this for once…"_ she told herself. She took a breath and then charged.

"HHHAAAA!"

She lept in the air and aimed her foot for Vegeta's chest. He simply whacked her leg away from him with an arm, but she quickly regained her balance and pivoted her way around to make another few strikes. But once again, she ended up being sent to the ground, only she didn't waist any time nursing her wounds. She sprang back up and attempted another assault. During her attack, she tried to right hook him in the jaw, but Vegeta simply swatted it away and performed the same move on her, which was of course successful. Intent on her new goal, Caroline than did an intentional back roll after receiving the blow and then used all the strength in her legs to propel her into the air, which resulted in her flinging herself, upside down while airborne. As she quickly flew over her teacher, she then stretched out her hands with both thumbs against the another. With a loud yell, she let loose a barrage of energy blasts. The noise from the impact could be heard throughout the Capsule Corp. building. Mrs. Briefs was so startled she almost dropped her pan holding the iced tea she planned on taking to her granddaughter. Bulma nervously clenched her pen as her troubled mind, and recently shaking floors, prevented her from handling any more paperwork in her office.

"_C'mon! Can't you guys take a break? I've never gonna be able to work like this!" _she thought.

Several minutes later Caroline once more, stumbled away from her instructor with a bloodied mouth, but kept her center. After a few days of being relatively silent, Vegeta finally decided to speak his mind.

"C'mon, McBride. We've been doing this same old dance for days now. Five days and you still haven't been able to avoid one hit, not even carry out a block! You may have learned how to carry out your offensive fighting, but your defense is severely lacking. How are you going to protect yourself from opponents faster than you?"

Caroline wiped the blood from her chin and stood straight with fists clenched.

"Well maybe I won't have to avoid any hits. Not if I have enough speed to beat the crap out of them before they even know it!"

"And just what makes you think you're that fast?"

"Hey, with those stupid weights off, I feel like the lightest, fastest human alive! The Flash can go and eat his heart out!" Caroline happily said with a raised fist.

"I'm not even going to bother asking what you meant by that statement," replied Vegeta.

"It's a home world thing." She went into her stance once more. "Anyway, I think it's safe to say I'm much faster than I was when we started. And thanks to the weights, my powers, and (as much as I hate to admit it) _your training_, I've improved considerably."

"Hmph. That's pretty big talk coming from someone who's gained more bruises than this planet's gained years. But I'll admit, you've been committed to this far longer than I expected."

"All that matters is that I'm still here, and I'm not leaving anytime soon either. So let's go again!"

"Taking initiative, are we? Heh, let's see how long that eagerness of yours will last."

With her new speed, Caroline threw herself at him with more punches and kicks than she could count. It was the same as every other day before, a few rounds of sparing and then a few unanticipated hits to her body, but today Caroline was determined to miss his lightning fast attacks and possibly land a blow of her own. She no longer regarded the pain and kept on going. Half the time, her feet weren't even on the ground! While carrying on with the brawl, she was suspending herself in mid air due to her fuming energies. However, soon her frustration got the better of her and she started to just dart around Vegeta and attempt a few side- kicks and punches as fast as she possibly could. She was moving so fast even _she_ didn't believe it. It seemed as if Vegeta was actually having a little…_trouble_ predicting her moves. For a brief moment, when moving around at intense speed, just for one, brief, moment she thought she saw a look of surprise on her teacher's face. In that instant her mind went blank and her movement ceased. In the split second that she stopped, Vegeta saw an opening and gave her a hard fist to the gut. But he didn't stop there, he continued by crouching down and tripping her with a very low swinging kick. She landed flat on her back with her spine instantly aching. She rolled over to try to get up, but her sore abdomen was giving her too much trouble. She thought that punch felt _much_ harder than what Vegeta usually gave her. She remained kneeled on the floor with her arms wrapped around her stomach and her body leaned forward.

"So fast you don't even know what to do with yourself," spat Vegeta. His tone was now more agitated than usual. All he did was watch the girl struggle.

"You exposed a weak spot, and I took advantage of it. That's how it's going to be in every fight, and if that little incident were to happen in a real battle, you will not stand a chance. Do you have any grasp of that yet? Honestly, where's your damn head?"

"You…huff…must've knocked it loose a few days ago."

"Five days, McBride. Five days we've been at this. Your progress is saddening. I'm sure my own frail daughter would be better off than you at this point! Anyone can learn to protect themselves from attacks in a mere week, so how is it that you're the only person I've come across to find it completely impossible?"

His words were starting to drain what was left of Caroline's confidence. Frustration was all that remained.

"S-shut up! Just SHUT UP!" She then lifted her strained neck to face him with watery eyes from frustration. "You think I don't already _know_ that I suck? You think I don't _know_ that I'm most likely gonna be the first person to get killed in a fight? Well guess what! I do! And you've got no idea how bad it scares me! If you think I can get as strong as any of you guys in just two months than you're stupid! These lessons are stupid! The reason that I'm even _still_ _here_ putting myself through this is stupid! All this training is doing so far is just telling me to stop and get out of this place as quick as I can!"

She then paused and lowered her head in shame. She then remembered the horrible bloody images that she saw in her dream. They were now imbedded in her memory along with what "Goku" had told her.

"But I can't stop…I can't just get up and leave. If I don't do that, everyone I know is probably going to die and it'll be my fault. I have to keep going but…but…" She then placed her forehead on the tile floor and let her arms fall limp on each side in defeat. "But I'm not getting anywhere. I'm sorry, Vegeta. My body can't keep this up anymore. It's too much. I…I'm not…"

"Just as I thought." Vegeta then crossed his arms and walked right by Caroline, then stopped a few feet away never once looking at her.

"I suppose I was right from the very beginning. You _are_ pathetic."

Caroline's eyes widened in shock.

"A human like you will always be pathetic. Weak, pitiful, worthless: all those words could define you."

"_Pathetic?"_

"You give in way too soon, there's no fighting spirit in you."

"_Pitiful? WORTHLESS?"_ Caroline's gripped the tile of the floor tightly. Her white aura grew bigger, but with his back turned, either Vegeta ignored it or was oblivious to it. Regardless, he kept talking.

"I should have known this straight from the start. This was all just a complete waste of my time."

He then made his way to the metal stairs to the door, but before he reached the railing…

"I am not worthless."

Caroline stood up and let her energy fly freely. "You can call me every other name in the book, but that one crosses the line! I already told you that I'm weak, I already know that to you I'm a pitifully sad representation of a fighter, but no one can ever call me worthless! Not. Even. You."

Vegeta stood silent and simply stared at her with interested eyes as Caroline fists and arms began to shake from the strength trying to break free from her body.

"Before any of this happened, back home I was beginning to think my life _was_ insignificant, that I was going to go through my entire life without doing anything important. But, out of the billions of other people on my planet, I was the one who got the dragon ball and was sent here. Now I have a purpose, a purpose that could help save people, _my people_! Do you have any idea what it feels like to realize that you could actually do something that great? I bet you have, but I don't care. I might not know exactly what I'm supposed to do here, but I refuse to let you or anyone else TAKE THIS FEELING AWAY FROM ME!"

As she finished her speech, Caroline ran straight to Vegeta at an elevated speed with a retracted fist ready to fire. This time, she would not fall. This would be the end of her first lesson.

The back and forth clashing from student and master began again with much more intensity. Both were moving much faster than they had planned to, but each kept up with the other. Vegeta was surprised to see that each time he struck Caroline her body bent back slightly from the impact, but she immediately leaned forward with feet firmly pressed to the floor. Caroline's own strikes were much harder than what she had given before, and were at least twice as fast.

"I might be weaker than you Vegeta, but I guess you can relate since you've always been in the same sorta situation with you know who!"

"You must really want me to kill you."

"Just stating a fact. You're not the only one who has a few harsh things to say!"

The conversation was sort lived, but the fight continued for several minutes. Then, the defining moment happened. Caroline had just thrown a punch at Vegeta's face but he fazed to the left of her seconds before she hit him. As soon as he vanished away from her hand, everything around her seemed to move slower. She could see Vegeta to the left of her slowly about to drive his fist towards her face. Then, "Goku's" voice came to mind.

_You may not have realized this yet, but these visitors coming, they intend to conquer any and every world…if they succeed in finding the dragon balls, they could gain the power to invade anywhere they want, including your universe, your galaxy, **your own planet**._

_You must look deep within yourself in order to grasp your inner power…_

_You have it inside of you, just **believe** you have it…_

She saw the faces of her family's smiles once again from her dream.

_The strength you get from loved ones…._

_**Believe** you have it, or you may never be able to see your world again…or the people in it._

Caroline's mind then raced on how to react to Vegeta's punch as it slowly continued on its path. The closer it got, the faster it became.

_Just think about what life would be like if the people you loved were taken way from you. If your whole world were taken away…_

The terrible visions of the nightmare portion of the dream resurfaced. She now knew the meaning behind it now. It was the little extra push she was looking for. As she saw the memories of her past, the glimpses of her future and what was about to happen right in front of her, only one thing crossed her mind: _"Not this time!"_

Caroline bent her knees to lower herself from Vegeta's fist. She then slowly cocked her head to the side to avoid the rest of his arm from reaching her. He went entirely past her.

Everything then moved again at its normal pace, Vegeta seemed unaffected and continued to throw swift punches at Caroline, but she swung her head and body by every one of them. He performed a middle roundhouse kick, but jumped over his leg with little difficulty. Once she landed, Vegeta tried a high sidekick, but she used her arm to deflect it and then instantly shot up and slugged a punch to his right cheek that made him stagger backward, mostly disbelief. Out of instinct, Caroline backed away in case he decided to punch back. She lowered her defense as she saw that Vegeta had not moved from his spot, still seemingly flabbergasted. She then breathed heavily as her body's actual level of endurance caught up to her. She had finished her task but was exhausted.

"Huff…There, huff! I did it! I dodged you! Happy now?!"

**WHACK!**

Before she knew it, she was once again flat on her back, with Vegeta standing over her feet with a scowl.

"Still too willing to let your guard down. Your incompetence amazes me, McBride" observed Vegeta. He then rubbed his recently struck cheek. "But I suppose you're not entirely hopeless."

Caroline looked lazily up to meet Vegeta's gaze. "Funny, I thought you were gonna hold off on the insults until lesson two."

"I was getting impatient. You were lucky to have accomplished this the day before the end of this lesson. However, like I said before, your rage is the key to your strength. I decided to put it to the test. Hell, I probably should've just started with that rule instead!"

Caroline just laughed faintly, "Heh heh. Too late for that now I guess."

Vegeta then walked to the gravity controls and began customizing the system.

"That's it for today. You can go."

"Okay."

A moment of silence passed and Caroline remained on the floor.

"Hey Vegeta?"

"What now, McBride?"

"Could you give me a hand? I think my legs finally gave out, hehe." Caroline replied innocently with an arm raised straight up.

"*Sigh*"

* * *

_Later that night…_

After spending the rest of the after noon chilling out and basking in her newfound glory, Caroline laid stretched out in her bed, again with the weights on, with Snow curled on her stomach. She had a wide smile on her face.

"_Well, I finally did it. I dodged Vegeta, and I actually managed to hit the jerk! That was awesome! I guess that Goku from my dream was right," _she thought to herself.

She then hopped off the bed and walked to the dresser. She opened a drawer and took out the small brown bag.

"I believe this calls for a senzu bean," she announced to Snow. She dug her fingers through the bag and got out one small green bean. She then popped the sucker into her mouth and tried to anticipate the flavor. Her once satisfied smile then twisted into severe distaste.

"Bleh!" she coughed as she swallowed the chewed bean. It had a bitter, strong property to it.

"Augh! Eew! That was disgusting, yuck! Darn it, Bardock!"

Snow just looked at her curiously as she recovered from the ordeal and her ranting. Her remarks could barely be heard from the outside the building as the large crescent moon made its way above Satan City in the distance.

* * *

**AN: Finally Caroline shows some progress! I was at a loss when writing the fight scene between Caroline and Vegeta, so I let Sum 41 provide me with a little inspiration. "Noots" is such a great song! Isn't it amazing how music can inspire people? Anyway, I really wanted to get this particular challenge of Caroline's out of the way so we can speed things up a little bit, I really wanna get into part two, but there's still a few things I want to cover before we get that far. For example, for those of you readers who want a little more detail about certain events that happened during the course of this universe's series, like Raditz's arrival on Earth, the battle on Namek or Bardock's dealings with Babidi, I thought it would be a good idea for different characters to tell what happened depending on each individual piece. Don't worry, I won't cover **_every_** climactic battle, but it will give key information to events later on in the story. Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to make one thing perfectly clear: Caroline McBride is NOT a Mary Sue type of character! I didn't even know what a Mary Sue **_was_** until recently and I started freaking out about it going, "Holy crap! Is Caroline a Sue? Do readers automatically hate her?" and stuff like that. I made her as original as I possibly could, and her personality will change over time. And I know the whole "person from our world goes to their world" thing sounds very over worked but I will stick to the story, I don't care if people don't like it, it sticks! Anyway, now that that's out of my system, please review and stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10: The Not So Great Escape

Chapter 10: The Not-So-Great Escape

"Are you sure you want to do this, Piccolo?" Goten asked a he and his family stood around the Nemekian. He, Gohan, Bardock, Chi Chi and even Pan all stood outside the Son house, each with a solemn look on their face.

"Yes, I'm sure," the alien replied. "Planet Namek will be an easy target for these mages once they reach our galaxy. If they choose to search there _first_, there's no doubt in my mind they'll find the Namekian dragon balls quickly. And if they're able to summon Purunga…well, we can't let that happen. It would be wise for at least _one of us_ to be stationed there to keep watch over the place until they finally show up, wherever they decide to land first. As a native to the planet, I think it would be right for me to stay there for a little while."

"Sounds like a good idea, but you shouldn't go by yourself. This force is capable of bringing entire galaxies to ruin. If they check there first, you might not be able to hold them off for long, much less defend the entire planet," Bardock replied.

"I'm not saying that I'll be able to take them all head on, but I can definitely hold my own long enough for the rest of you to come and back me up," Piccolo remarked. He then shut his eyes and chuckled with a grin, "But who knows? They might not even end up going there at all."

Gohan then stepped forward.

"In either case, I'd like to go with you," he then said.

"Huh?" everyone gasped.

"But…But Papa!" Pan yelled.

"Gohan, just what are you thinking? You can't just decide to get up and head off to some distant planet like this! What about your job at the university? What about the protection of your own family for goodness sake? It's completely irresponsible!" yelled Chi Chi as she ran up to her eldest son and got right up to his face. Needless to say, even after all these years, she could still manage to pull off her pure intimidating look.

"Sorry Mom, but I feel it would be more irresponsible to let Piccolo go to Namek alone, but that's not the only reason." He then looked down at one of his open hands with frustration. "Let's face it, I've gone soft. I need to get away for a while and get back into shape for what's ahead. I've been thinking about going away somewhere to train for a while now and I think this would be the best opportunity for me. I want to get my power back to it's maximum so I _can_ protect the family…because we're running out time," he said as he balled his hand into a fist.

His words made his mother step back a step with a remorseful look in her eyes.

"If something _does_ happen, I've helped defend Planet Namek before and I want to do it again."

Gohan then turned to his green companion with a look of joy.

"It'll be just like old times, right Piccolo?"

"Hmph. Fine by me, I guess," responded Piccolo gruffly.

Gohan then turned back to the Sons. "As for the university, summer's coming around and everyone will be out for vacation in a couple of weeks, so I won't miss much." He then mirrored his father's mischievous smile. "Although the sub will probably have his hands full until then! Haha!"

"Oooooh! You're behaving just like your father!" growled Chi Chi. Her moods quickly switched and she clung to Goten and began to bawl with a handkerchief wiping away her tears.

"Why? Why is it that all my boys are leaving me? It's bad enough that my own _careless husband_ runs out on us for the _millionth_ time, but now my babies are starting to take after him! I tried my best to keep them from developing his—his _mannerisms_ but I don't know where I went wrong! Does anyone even _know_ what all this stress has been doing to me?" she rhetorically asked the congregation of blank, awkward stares.

"I'll tell you what! It's aged me horribly! Look at all of these bags and wrinkles!" she said as she rubbed the sides of her face. "Maybe that's why my Goku left me, because I've grown too old for him! I've become an old hag with no husband to speak of! Waaaaah!" she wined as she buried her face into Goten's shirt in her melodramatic episode.

Goten, being subject to this kind of behavior from his mother practically since the very day he was born, simply patted her back and ignored her cries.

"Are you sure you really want to do this, bro? School's really gonna suck without you around. You're the best instructor there!"

"Thanks Goten, but I'm sure. I have to do this one way or another."

"If you're going then I am too!" Pan hollered as she pulled on Gohan's pants.

Gohan bent down and patted his daughter's head. "I'm sorry sweetie, but I can't take you with me. You need to say here with your mother and the others. I'll only be gone for a little while, I promise. And you still have your schoolwork to finish, like your uncle."

"But it's not fair! I wanna go to a cool planet in space with you! I wanna get stronger with you too!"

Gohan then sighed and tightly hugged Pan as tears fell from her little cheeks. He knew that his ambitions were going to have some consequences. Videl, he thought, would be a little more understanding than his daughter since she and him had witnessed their fair share of terror and conflict in their younger years, and that going off to train would be beneficial in helping to save the Earth. But he knew how hard it would be for Pan to grasp such a concept. She was born and raised in a time of peace and thought of fighting simply as nothing but sport. True, she had potential, but was much too young to even think of fighting in the same rank as the others. The very thought of seeing his little girl caught in battle worried him deeply and it was his motivation for leaving in the first place. But now the only thing worrying him was how to get her to stop crying. He knew exactly how she felt, remembering when his father had to leave him on several occasions. Then he had another memory and then an idea.

"Pan?" he began. "Do you remember what your grandfather said to you before he went away with Uub?"

"Y-yeah. He said he'd come and visit me," she said as she rubbed her red nose.

"Well, how 'bout I come see you and mom from time to time during my training on Namek? Maybe I'll even take you there to see some of the villages sometime."

"You mean…You'd really do that?" Pan asked excitedly with bright eyes.

"Yeah, Gohan. You'd _really_ do that?" asked Piccolo with a scowl. As much as he regarded the his former student, he would like his plan a lot more if he didn't bring his kids into it. He didn't want things to feel _too_ much like old times.

"Aw, it'll be alright. We can do that at least once," Gohan reassured with a smile. "Until then, Pan, you'll stay here and be good for me, right?"

"Yep! I will!" she answered.

He then stood up straight and moved his hand towards his forehead. "Besides, the traveling will give me a chance to practice my—" _WISSSH!_

Gohan then vanished in a flash of motion and left everyone startled for barely a second, but then his body returned just a quickly as it had left, only he had a slight smile with a sleek cell phone in his hand.

"Instant Transmission! Tada!" he finished.

"_Holy_—" began Goten with his jaw dropped.

"Wow, Papa! That's awesome!" exclaimed Pan with her arms raised in praise.

"So you finally learned the technique, huh? Impressive, considering your limited free time," commented Piccolo.

"Good job, kid. I'm proud of you," added Bardock. "It's about time the next generation knew how to use it."

"Heh, thanks Grandpa. I've actually been able to do it for some time now, but I've never gone from planet to planet before so this should be interesting," replied Gohan bashfully.

"Hey Papa? What's that you got there?" asked Pan pointing to the cell phone in his hand.

"Oh! I almost forgot! I wanted to show you guys the instant transmission the way Dad first showed it to me when I was a kid. So I uh…" He glanced down at the shiny, black phone, "…decided to stop by a old friend's."

"Who's that, Papa?" asked Pan.

Meanwhile, somewhere in East City…

"Puar, have ya seen my cell? I swear it was right on that chair a second ago!" called Yamcha as he scrambled through his apartment.

"Sorry, haven't seen it," replied his furry, floating companion and he hovered into the living room. "Hey wait a minute! Why are you all dressed up? Aren't you supposed to be training?"

"But I have a date this evening! She's supposed to call so I could pick her up for dinner. I haven't had a chance like this in months so the training can wait."

"But don't you remember what Bardock said? He said that whatever's coming for the dragon balls could be really, really dangerous! Like 'The End of the Universe!' kinda dangerous!"

"Yeah, like I haven't heard that one before. Look Puar, I'll bet you old man Roshi was probably drunk out of his gourd that day and made up that ridiculous story just to mess with us. I mean c'mom! Magical, evil mages out to destroy the universe? Sounds like something _I'd_ come up with if _I_ was pretty hammered, wouldn't you say, buddy?"

Puar simply sighed wearily as his response.

Yamcha then thought to himself with a clueless glance at the ceiling. "Then again, we _have_ fought weirder things out there haven't we? Like Cell and Buu…"

His expression soon changed to a carefree grin and then continued to haul through his piles of belongings strewn around the room. "Oh well, I'll train for whatever we're fighting later. In the meantime, I don't care if the world ends _tomorrow_, I am NOT going to let training get in the way of what's left of my dwindling sex life! Now help me look! Where's that damn phone!"

"And he wonders why he's gotten himself killed so many times…" Puar mumbled to himself.

* * *

"C'mon, McBride! You lazy brat, give me all you've got!"

Caroline delivered another round of swift punches towards Vegeta and swerved a kick at him in mid air. Vegeta blocked it with his forearm and threw up his knee to her chin, which she managed to evade. Her way of fighting had changed dramatically over the past few days. What started as routine beatings soon turned into flat out sparing! Now she could dodge whatever Vegeta threw at her, except for the occasional sneak attack. The only thing that was different was that during the first week, Vegeta would rarely say a word to Caroline. Now, over halfway through the second week, she couldn't get him to shut up.

"I know you can do better than this! C'mon! Move your ass! Do you honestly think what you're doing would pass as decent maneuvering?"

"I think I liked you better when you'd just beat the crap outta me!" Caroline replied as she continued to weave around his attacks and attempted her own assortment. "At least you weren't always _screaming in my ear!"_

"No, no, no! You're not even aiming in the right directions!" barked Vegeta, ignoring her comments.

"I'm about to aim _below the belt_ if that's what you're asking for…" Caroline quietly mumbled.

"How many times do I have to tell you that when attacking an opponent you must always aim at the three most crucial sections of the body…" He then charged at her.

He leapt and positioned himself for a flying side kick directly at her stomach.

"Abdomen!"

Caroline quickly pushed his foot away from her, but he then curled his waist around and swung his elbow to her face.

"Head!"

Caroline back flipped out of harm's way and in the process kicked his elbow upwards. However, while in the process of flipping, she had briefly forgotten how quick her teacher could really be.

"Back!"

Another side kick to the spine sent her rolling on the tile. Thankfully the armor prevented any chance of her back breaking.

"Those three areas are the most useful targets to go for. If you damage one of those badly enough, you'll have the advantage against any mortal enemy. Now I know you have more strength than _this_! I want you to go _all out_ today!" continued Vegeta.

"But I am! I've been trying as hard as I can since day one!" Caroline replied in frustration.

"No you haven't. You've still got some reserved. I can feel it. Even though you haven't been training for very long, exercising your powers on a daily basis has allowed your power level to increase greatly. "

"R-Really?" asked Caroline in amazement.

"Yes, but that won't matter worth a damn if you can't control every single ounce of it. A skilled warrior must possess the ability to effortlessly be able to control his power, whether it be repressing it or unleashing it. It's a tactic that can prove very useful in throwing your opponent off guard, by making you seem weaker than you actually are. Take me for example. You're smart enough to know that I've been holding back on you, but how strong do you think I _really_ am?"

Caroline twiddled her index fingers as she thought. "Super Saiyan…two?"

"Vegeta stared blankly at her for a moment, but to Caroline's surprise, he immediately burst out in laughter.

"Ahahahha! You must really not know me at all do you?" he laughed.

"Well _I've_ never seen you reach any level higher," Caroline sassed.

"_Not until GT anyway…"_ she then thought to herself. But there was no way Vegeta could have reached a Super Saiyan Four at this point in time. She betted he didn't even know that such a level existed yet. Maybe it didn't here.

"Well then, allow me to demonstrate how to properly release one's inner strength."

He then positioned himself with both legs a good distance apart with his arms slightly curved upward and hands shaped into fists, with his posture slightly hunched over.

"This stance will allow you to properly channel the energy throughout your body. Also, to assist in the process, it doesn't hurt to blow off a little steam…vocally, I mean."

"You mean when you guys yell for, like, a century when powering up?" Caroline joked.

"Tease all you want, but in truth it's one of the best ways to ease the strain of your body and keep your mind focused. Now watch and learn…"

Vegeta then began to give a low growl. His body was then instantly surrounded by a golden aura and then in a burst of light and wind his hair changed from black to shining yellow and is eyes a greenish teal. Caroline had never seen a real Super Saiyan transformation before, especially this close. She stared in wonder at the bright light as the wind flew by her. The atmosphere seemed become denser and denser with each second.

Vegeta kept on. His growl soon turned into a penetrating low-pitched groan. Soon sparks of electricity zapped across his body. His hair became almost sharp enough to cut as he went to the next level. He stopped for a moment and stood up straight.

"So…you think _this_ is my absolute limit?" he asked with a grin.

"Uuhhh," was all Caroline could say back.

"I thought you might say that. Now, bear witness to my _real_ power!" he proclaimed.

He than went straight to a piercing yell as he went back to his stance. This time the floor seemed to rumble the very foundations of the building, causing Caroline to lose her center. The wind grew violent and the aura brighter, when in a flash Vegeta's body was engulfed in light. Caroline was then blown back to the wall from the intensity and was temporarily blinded. When she regained her sight, her eyes widened with shock. Vegeta's spiky hair fell almost to his calves and his eyebrows had disappeared and were replaced with nothing but an exaggerated brow, all with small sparks of electricity around him. A small crater had been made in the ground where he stood. Clearly he was at Super Saiyan Three.

"Impressed, McBride?" he smirked.

Caroline feebly stood back up, trying not to be blown away again from the wind with her jaw to the floor. "That…is the coolest thing I've ever frickin seen! Oh my gosh, I had no idea! T—That was awesome!"

Vegeta then quickly powered down to his original state. "Hmph. You honestly think I've spent all this time making no progress after Kakarot left?"

"The thought never crossed my mind. Sorry. Goku's gonna be surprised."

"_Anything_ will amaze that pretentious clown," said Vegeta coldly. "Anyway, now that you've seen my example, now it's your turn. Before you can learn to repress your power, you have to be aware of your own limits. So, naturally, I want you to see what those limits are."

"But…But how the heck do I—"

"I just showed you. Imitate exactly what I did, now hurry up!"

"You…you want me to yell and everything?"

Vegeta nodded.

Caroilne sighed then mirrored Vegeta's stance and stared at the floor in concentration. She took in a veeerry deep breath to supply her lungs, but just before she opened her mouth, intending to scream, she shot her head back up to face him.

"Do I really have to?" she asked innocently with pleading eyes.

"Yes, McBride," replied Vegeta, irritably with his arms crossed.

"But…I mean it was fun and all to watch you, Goku and the others do it on T.V. but when you think about it…I don't know…it looks a little unnecessary…and kinda embarrassing, don't you think?"

"The only thing you'll find _embarrassing_ is that new lump on your skull I'm about to give you if you don't _do as I say_! Now show me that inner strength!"

"Alright! Sheesh!" she yelled.

She then went back to concentrating while her white aura erupted around her. A low growl soon turned into a load moan as she felt her body being filled with energy. The more that flowed, the more intense it felt and the strain caused her to elevate her voice. Small pieces of shattered floor and wall slowly floated around her. It felt to her that she was being engulfed in some pressurized bubble and that the more power she released the more condensed it became.

"You're almost there McBride. Use your emotions to break through to your maximum. I've seen you do it on several occasions. That day you discovered your ability to fly, when you finally passed my first lesson and managed to lay a hit on me, each time you felt a wave of extreme anger or frustration you took yourself to the next level bit by bit."

Caroline could barely hear him. Her ears were ringing with adrenaline and excitement.

"Now's the time to see how far you can actually go," he continued. "Think of what was going through your head to get you by last week. Come on, McBride! PUSH YOURSELF!"

She couldn't take it anymore. Her body didn't feel right. It felt like it was fire and was shaky. Deep down, she felt there was more waiting, but if she let it out she was afraid it might actually hurt her. She knew that the human body had amazing capabilities, but not for anything like this. For this, she was weak. How much energy could she possibly have anyway? She hadn't been training for _that_ long. How strong did Vegeta really think she had become? The pressure bubble soon made it hard to breath and she felt herself hold back.

"_No! I can do this! There has to be more…That can't be it! It can't be!"_ she thought.

"C'mon, Caroline…" she told herself.

Caroline then threw her head back and roared as her aura exploded throughout the Gravity Room.

"RAAAAAAAAAHHH!" she screamed as sparks and harsh wind blew. Her hair was swept straight up and fabric from her suit began to tear away. Small spurts of lightning surged from her limbs, Vegeta stood and watched, seemingly emotionless.

Caroline then regained her composure. Once she calmed down, she observed her surroundings and was baffled at all of the flashes of light, the swirling debris and noise around her. She then got scared.

"Holy Crap! Whatdoido, Whatdoido, WHATDOIDO?"

"Don't you dare be afraid of this, McBride! Keep your concentration!" spat Vegeta. "This power is going to help keep you alive in battle! Get very well acquainted with it."

"But I—uh…" Unable to take control, Caroline's aura vanished and the winds ceased. She fell straight onto her backside with an, "Oof!" as the room settled into silence.

As Caroline got back up, her body suddenly chugged a bit and shook. She then realized that she was drenched in sweat and her head burned from the inside out. One of the things she was starting to notice about her powers was that even though it gave her superhuman abilities and allowed her to keep up well at the beginning of each session, it was always short-lived. Her human endurance would always catch up with her if she were given enough time to realize it. She was now having trouble breathing and it felt like she had just run a marathon without stopping. It was as if she still had on the new set of weights Bardock gave to her a couple days ago. Vegeta observed her labored breathing and shaking limbs as she continued to try and stay on her feet.

"We're done for the day," he finally said as he walked to the control panel.

Caroline finally stood firmly. "That's it?"

"That's it. Get some rest."

Caroline clenched her fists as she eyed the floor with an unsatisfied stare. For some reason, those words weren't what she wanted to hear.

The Next Day…

"What do you mean you 'haven't seen her'?"

"I already told you, I haven't seen Caroline at all this morning. I thought she was with you," replied Bulma as she applied her lipstick near the bedroom mirror.

"Preposterous! I've made it so that morning rounds begin directly at sunrise!" Vegeta exclaimed.

"So?" asked Bulma, fluffing her hair in the mirror.

"It was sunrise forty-five minutes ago!" he snapped.

"Well maybe she's not feeling well. It wouldn't be surprising seeing as how rough you've been on her lately. Did you even check her room at all?" Bulma asked irritably.

"Did I check her roo—Of course I checked it, woman! And lo and behold there wasn't a trace of her in it!" he yelled as he angrily followed his wife through the hallway to the living room.

"Well dear, when it comes to training she's you're responsibility, not mine."

Vegeta paused for a minute, having trouble coming up with something new to respond with, but soon a devious grin formed at the corners of his mouth.

"Oh I get it…"

"What?" asked Bulma with a raised brow.

"Isn't it obvious? You've been against this whole thing from the very beginning. Seems you've finally gotten the nerve to stash her from me so the training cannot continue."

"What? Don't be ridiculous! I don't have—"

"No more lies. Where is she hiding? The laboratory perhaps?

"I didn't hide her anywhere you moron! Although I can't really blame her for hiding away since you've been doing nothing but slave-driving her for weeks now at no end!" yelled Bulma spinning on her heels to where her back was turned to Vegeta with her arms crossed.

"We have been going exactly on schedule since she agreed to the training. Any mishaps now could throw us completely off! I have to get this girl's preparations out of the way as soon as possible so I can turn my attention to Trunks! The boy will be useless at the state he's in!"

"Here's a thought: Why don't you train him NOW! Give Caroline a break and work with your son! What will one day off do?"

"What will it DO? I'll tell you what it will do! It'll mean that every single ounce of effort that I've put into this will be utterly waste—"

"Are you guys talking about Caroline?"

The couple immediately turned their attention to Bra, who was standing in the hall with a small mp3 player in one hand and one headphone in an ear. She looked at her parent's in a very sleepy and agitated gaze since they woke her with the noise.

"She flew out of here a while ago before the sun came up." She then staggered her way back into her room to resumed her sleeping. "I guess she forgot to tell you guys."

Vegeta's instance of rage could be heard throughout the whole house.

"WHAT?"

* * *

"Caroline, once again you successfully dissed the prince!" Caroline said to herself as she fell backward into a heap of flowered moss and grass. Her plan had worked out perfectly. She thought that after two long weeks of training she deserved a little break. Once she left the house, she simply flew far off from the city near the forest where she knew it'd be peaceful. It didn't take her long to find a good place to land. She settled in an open meadow surrounded by woodland and snow-tipped mountains. The large fields were still littered with spring wildflowers, and in the very center was a small lake with a few trees surrounding it. Caroline nestled herself under the tree closest to the lake and placed herself into a relaxed pose as she watched the sun continue to rise.

"He's probably gonna kill me for this, but man do I love flying! And his last words _were_ to get a little rest," said Caroline without a care in the world.

"Punishment can't be any worse than what he's done to me already. Now all I can do is just realaaaxx…" she mumbled as her eyes slowly shut. Everything was quite and content.

Caroline expected to dose off at any time now, and to be awakened by Vegeta blasting her into the center of the Earth later on. But to the best of her ability, she simply could not sit still for very long. She would open her eyes and observe the nature around here, change the position that she was laying in, and then try and empty her thoughts…only to find that she was repeating the process all over again.

"Arrg! I can't relax!" she barked as she sat up in frustration. Never before had she felt more compelled to do work rather than nothing. She was thinking differently now, she knew that she had to remain committed to getting stronger. The lives of billions are stake right now, and yet she does nothing? She could make better use of her time training than just sitting around in a field all day. To do that would be completely irresponsib—

"What I am saying? Training's what I've been trying to get _away_ from! I can't do it _here_! I…well then again…"

She then looked around once more at the beautiful, open, private landscape.

"I guess it would be okay here. I _does_ seem really quiet. And more importantly…no more of Vegeta!" she told herself. She then checked her body weights and tossed her jacket to the trunk of her selected tree.

"A few routine exercises and that's it! Maybe another attempt at a power up while I'm at it," she pondered as she engaged in set of sit-ups in the lush grass. "At least I won't have to worry about anyone hearing me scream," she said to herself.

However, unbeknownst to Caroline, high in the deep blue sky, floated Bardock. He stared intently on Caroline as she continued her own training.

"Not a bad idea, kid. Never hurts to get out of the Gravity Room every once in a while. Not too bad of a spot either," he said as he looked at the scenery. He was too far up to be concerned with her hearing him. She was nothing but a small moving dot on a big green plain to him, but he knew what she was doing.

"I'm glad you've developed that kind of mindset so quickly. It's gonna take a lot of determination to get ready for this fight," he continued. "Hopefully in the end it will be enough…"

* * *

Meanwhile, in a deep, undeterminable location in space…

A being dressed in silver armor and dark attire ran swiftly through the stone walls of the colossal building known as his headquarters. His dark knee-length cape fluttered behind him as he made his way to two very large, wooden doors with silver plating and bizarre lettering engraved around the handles. Just before the man reached the doors they seemed to be aware of his presence and immediately opened before him. As soon as he passed through, he then kneeled and bowed his head to the four figures whose backs were turned to him. Behind them were a variety of oddly-shaped objects and scrolls, some with the same foreign marks on the doors. All around the room, small crystals were placed all over the walls and ceiling, which gave the room a slightly red hue. There appeared to be a small, obtuse-shaped platform at the very middle of the floor with a large chunk of the same crystal rock placed on it. The rock was quite large, and had the same reddish glow as the others, but shown more brilliantly than the rest.

"Archon. I was wondering where you had run off to," said one who was standing closest to the odd-looking rock, still having his back turned. His voice was soft and youthful.

The man then took off his helmet, only to reveal that he was anything but a man. His eyes were a solid green with yellow irises, with scaled maroon skin and small antenna around the chin, which gave a fish-like appearance.

"My Lords! We have received reports that the last two systems of the southwest quadrant have been depleted. There is nothing left," proclaimed the alien soldier.

"Commemorative work, Archon." replied the other being again, still gazing fondly at the glowing crystal. "But of course you know that our work is far from over."

Suddenly above the large crystal, lights from all over the room appeared and danced about, until they all joined together to make almost a holographic image of a stunning, widespread formation of stars and clusters of nebulas in the center of the room.

"The northern galactic quadrants. Beautiful, isn't it? Its abundance of life makes it a very important find, and our last hope of achieving our master's wishes," continued the mysterious being in the front.

"Y-yes my Lord. Our eternal master will indeed be pleased at our great accomplishments in his name," groveled the soldier, stilled bowing to the floor whenever he wished to speak.

"Yes well, he won't be very pleased if we don't complete the task soon. Who do you think would be fit for purging such a delicate cosmos, hm?" said the leading being.

"Please, let me take this one," said a deep, burly voice that erupted from the tallest in the room. Even the dim light, one could tell he was powerful by his impressive stature.

"It would be an honor to serve our master in such a task. This _is_ our final one you know."

"Oh alright. I will admit Essepe, you've been extremely patient, even for someone of _your_ standards. Very well my friend, you have been given a great privilege," stated the leading being.

"And it will certainly not be wasted," replied the other.

"Do you believe we will receive any other opposition from the inhabitants?" asked another of the four.

"Let us hope not, but I see it not as a major issue. We have come this far…"

The being then reached into his long, dark coat, pulling out two identical golden earrings, the very same as the Potara earrings that were only worn by the Supreme Kai's. He dangled them up in front of his eyes to study them more closely as he had already done on numerous occasions. He then gripped them tightly in his gloved hand.

"It would be a shame to let a few inconveniences get in our way."

* * *

**A.N: Yay! Chapter ten! Sorry that it took so long. I tried to put it all together bit by bit over these past few weeks. Now we finally got to see a sneak peak of the villains, ooooh! I know the whole scene wasn't that detailed, but you'll find out what they all look like soon enough. And don't worry, Caroline's training is almost over; we'll get to more important stuff soon. That being said, stick around for chapter 11!**


	11. Chapter 11: Seal of the Soul

Chapter 11: Seal of the Soul

This was now becoming a typical day for Caroline: Get up at the crack of dawn to train in the Gravity Room for about 3 hours, eat, try and sneak off to the woods (despite Vegeta's disapproval), train there if not caught, eat dinner, train in the Gravity Room again, then sleep…or if caught earlier, sneak out to the woods and resume more exercises for several _more_ hours. Training had become the official component of Caroline's life, and for the very first time she was beginning to take it seriously. She enjoyed handling the training herself, but knew it wouldn't go without consequences. Once she had returned to Capsule Corp. around lunchtime a few days earlier after her first unsuccessful "vacation," she got the response from Vegeta she had expected: being bombarded with ki blasts the majority of their afternoon training session with an extra earful of incredibly loud scolding. But compared to her first day, she was almost immune to his spirit-breaking words now. It was like she was watching him on T.V. again. He was a scary, ruthless prick at first, but as time went on, you'd find his constant banter to be nothing but a regular occurrence. It didn't help with stopping her secret outings either. No matter what time of day, it was free time that had to be spent meaningfully. She had gotten a little more creative too. In addition to the amounts of physical exercise, she also attempted to improve the precision of her energy blasts by making narrow targets out of tree trunks and then throwing blasts at it using gradual amounts of strength to test her level of control. One practice she learned from watching Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu a few years back, was where one would test the other's control by leaning against a nicely-sized boulder and the objective would be to obliterate every ounce of it except the area the person was leaning against, without hurting him. She tried to replicate the idea by placing a plank of wood vertically against a rock, get back a reasonable distance, then fire away! At first, she was lucky to find a charred twig left after the smoke cleared, but she soon found that the bigger the object was, the more you had to concentrate to get the open areas.

There were some instances where after a while of strenuous labor, the tempting desire to be free from the weights got the better of her. The weird thing was, every time she'd begin to un-strap one, a small, hard object would come into contact with her head seemingly out of nowhere; usually a small pebble or an acorn. At first she suspected it was just the work of some playful animals and shrugged it off, but every time she'd try again, another mysterious bullet from Mother Nature would be hurled to her noggin, each thrown harder than the last. She eventually gave up out of the premise of being purely freaked out and resumed her cycles far away from the tree line, hoping the woodland creatures would leave her be.

Today, neither Vegeta nor animals got in the way of her outdoor training. She was currently engaging in standard push-ups. The only difference was, since she wanted to increase her strength and stamina, she decided add on a few small boulders to her back from a previous target practice to increase the weight. Everything was relatively peaceful, until…

_**eeeeeeeEEEEEE…**_

Caroline then looked upward to face the sudden, growing noise. "Wha? What the crap is—Frick!"

_**BOOM!**_

It took several seconds for the shock of the small blast to subside. Smoke and a variety of birds quickly ascended to the skies.

"The heck was **that**?" screamed Caroline as she jumped into her defensive stance several feet away from the small smoldering circle that was once where she was positioned. As she looked up to find the source, she instead found Bardock hovering overhead with both hands on his hips and a grin on his face.

"Well, well, well. Looks like all of Vegeta's hard work is paying off. If I had tried that just a few weeks earlier, King Kai would've been veeeeery unhappy with me."

"What is your **problem**? Do you have any idea what you almost did? You could've killed me!" Caroline yelled from below.

"But I didn't, which proves that you have indeed been making progress, just like I said you would. Am I right or am I right?" said Bardock as he made his decent.

"You're insane, that's what you are," Caroline replied as she folded her arms trying to let the anger go. "But wait, you mentioned King Kai. What does _he_ have to do with anything?"

"Eh, nothing. But speaking of Kais, if you're not too preoccupied at the moment, I'd like for you to meet someone who might be able to give us a better understanding of your powers. He says it'll be fairly easy,"

"You mean…I'll get to actually meet King Kai? _The_ King Kai?" asked Caroline as she tapped her knuckles together with excitement.

"Well he _is_ a Kai…" replied the old Saiyan, still with a slight smile.

"Alright! Let's have a look, shall we?" prepped the Elder Kai as he paced around a very cross Caroline, as she sat in the lush green grass provided on the Kai planet. Even though she knew the purple-skinned immortal had good intentions, she was also aware of his on and off perverse tendencies, which made the "examination" all the more uncomfortable.

"So this is the product of Goku's latest scheme, eh? Hmph. When I told him about those potential catalysts I didn't think he'd actually try and get one himself. To be perfectly honest I thought, and hoped, that they didn't really exist," he said as he continued to circle around.

"Well, she definitely looks human, no questions there," the old Kai further assessed. "But something about that ki just doesn't feel quite right," he said to himself as he moved in a bit closer to the girl as he rubbed his chin while thinking. Caroline stood incredibly still and avoided eye contact as best as she could.

"Out of all the Kais in this universe…him? Really?" she murmured to Bardock. She knew he could hear her complaint. Unfortunately, so did Elder Kai. As punishment, the old Kai quickly snatched up a twig from the ground and whacked her straight on the top of her head.

"You mind your manners, _missy_!" he snapped as Caroline fell flat on the ground, stunned.

"These generations keep getting worse and worse by the decade. I might be old, but you shouldn't count me out just yet! Those other Kais may be fairly knowledgeable of this universe and whatnot, but I'm been overseeing these realms since before they were born! And as such I demand my share of respect!" he continued.

"She didn't mean anything by it, old man. But getting back on track, what exactly can you tell us about her energy?" asked Bardock, who had been quietly leaning against a nearby tree until now.

"Well…it's hard to say. But what stumps me the most is that it almost feels like there's something repressing it."

"Repressing it?" asked Bardock with a raised brow.

"Hold on, let me get a better look." The old Kai then sat himself down right in front of Caroline, who had just sat herself back up and was rubbing her new bruise. He then stretched his arms out just about a foot away from shoulders, closed his eyes and remained in deep concentration for several minutes. Then, he immediately opened his eyes.

"Yep. There's something there alright. Feels like a barrier of some sort," concluded Elder Kai.

"What exactly does that mean?" asked Caroline nervously.

"Calm down, let me think for a minute," replied the old Kai. He then turned his back to his visitors and looked to the violet skies as he caressed his chin in deep thought. Again, he paused for several minutes, leaving the two in deep suspense.

"Yes! I think I've figured it out!" he exclaimed as he spun around to face his quests. "What this girl possess doesn't feel like regular energy because it _isn't_ regular energy!"

"We already figured that one out, genius," mumbled Caroline under her breath. Again Elder Kai overheard and hit her with his trusty stick once again.

"Ow!" she yelped.

"I'm not finished! (Ah-hem!) Anyway, I've seen this type of energy before, but as far as I know, no living beings around here have ever been recorded using it. As you know, it is stated that all beings from this universe have the ability to master the energy circulating from all forms of life, an ecosystem that is both isolated between each living thing yet conjoined throughout every galaxy in order to maintain balance. When mastered properly, one can use both their own energy and even the energy surrounding them to work to their advantage. However…" he then pointed his thumb at Caroline, "This abrasive half pint here seems to have a different source of energy. One much like ours, but of a different origin entirely."

"And what source would that be exactly?" questioned Bardock.

"From her soul!" replied Elder Kai, making an eerie face while twiddling his fingers in front of him in an attempt to imitate some ghostly specter.

"My _soul_?" Caroline gasped. Her eyes widened to a whole new level.

"Yes, it's called 'soul ki', which literally means energy taken from the soul. But that's usually associated to those who are dead," explained Elder Kai.

"What!" panicked Caroline.

"Um, with all due respect, I always though that spiritual energy _did_ make up the majority of our ki," commented Bardock.

"Well, not exactly. You see, the spirit is more like the director of the ki and the motivator of whoever wishes to use it. The spirit itself chooses whether or not to harness the natural ki in the first place and then automatically orders the body to do the work of gathering it and expelling it as the spirit wishes. The mortal body is very important when dealing with this particular process. A living body itself manipulates the energy around it, both voluntarily and involuntarily, which is the cause for the appearance of an aura and what you would consider a power level. What the body does next with the surrounding energy is up for the spirit to decide. For you Saiyans, your bodies make it very easy to handle and increase ki, while humans and most other life forms are only able to take it to a certain limit. If pushed too far, the body will overload itself and quickly break down to nothing.

"Soul ki is a slightly different story. As everyone knows, the soul is everlasting, and can virtually never be destroyed. It is an abundant, constant flow of a being's essence. When you die, your soul doesn't die along with your body, but merely gets transported to another plain where it can be harbored safely, like Otherworld and Underworld for example. Anyways, like I said, soul ki is mainly affiliated with the dead since you'd normally have to be deceased in order to use it. But it is also incredibly powerful. Soul ki alone requires no outside sources of natural ki, or a living body for that matter to supply the user. Many fighters up there in Otherworld have been able to master it for many, many years, as did Goku during _his_ time there. That was how he was able to master the Super Saiyan 3 so easily; he had no human body and lack of natural ki to hold him back. His own spirit supplied him with the strength," Elder Kai explained.

"So what does that have to do with me? How can I be alive but still be able to use energy from my own soul? Am I...am I somehow…_dead_?" fretted Caroline as she clung to the side locks of her hair.

"No, you're not dead. Use some common sense, child," rebuked the ancient Kai. "Actually in your case, you're sort of using a bit of both. You'd have to, otherwise the use of the soul ki would kill you."

"How do you figure?" asked Bardock.

"Well, you _did_ say that the humans from your world had no way of using their ki, correct?" he then asked to Caroline.

"Yeah, back home it's impossible to do half the things I can do here," she answered.

"Really? Nothing at all?" curiously asked the elder.

"Nope. Nada. But once I got here it only took me, like, a day or two for me to fly and everything. But every time I use them I feel really, really tired afterwards," she answered back.

What she said seemed to make the Kai very frustrated. In reality, he was once again very deep in thought.

"Hmmm. Very strange. That may explain that seal, though," he said to himself.

"What do you think?" Bardock then asked.

"Well, this is just a hunch based on everything I've seen so far, but it seems that _that seal_ is the one thing that's keeping this girl alive whenever she uses her soul ki."

"Really?" Caroline interjected.

"Yes. Apparently in your home dimension you and your people are completely incapable of using natural ki like the humans from here can, and are entirely dependant on soul ki in order to survive in your universe. However, soul ki and natural ki are exactly similar in one respect, using too much beyond your limit will destroy your physical body. That seal, however it was placed there, is a barrier meant to contain your soul ki and prevent you from using too much. For us in this universe, our bodies make up that sort of seal. We can't tap in to our soul ki unless our bodies were to be destroyed, then our spirit would simply move on to the next plane. However, if _yours_ were to be disabled, you may have potential to expel limitless power, but it would never last long, maybe several minutes at the most until your death. Every cell in your body would overload and waste away causing you to die long before any tremendous damage could occur."

"So that would mean even though Caroline does, in theory, have a great deal of power, she essentially has no way of using all of it, just like the rest of us," concluded Bardock.

"_That explains why I feel like I'm about to die whenever I push myself during sessions! My body isn't used to taking in all that energy. Which also means…"_ though Caroline.

"Which would mean that I'm not a real catalyst! Those Mage guys are looking for beings or possess large amounts of power, right? Well, even if the Shadow Mages _did_ try to use me or humans from my world for whatever they're trying to do, they won't be able to use our energy because of that seal thingy!" proclaimed Caroline as she jumped to her feet with joy of the revelation.

Bardock instantly perked his head up at the idea. "I never thought of it like that." He then raised his fist in triumph. "Ha! Now I _know_ defeating those mage bastards will be easy! Without their fabled catalyst, all we have do is keep them from getting the dragon balls, defeat their army and the Mages themselves. Piece of cake!"

Elder Kai then breathed a sad sigh. "I'm afraid that's not all entirely true."

"Huh?" they both gasped.

"Another thing I noticed about the seal is that it isn't working at full strength. It's breaking down, very slowly, which would explain the sudden occurrence of your abilities and the growth of your powers. If it continues to do so without stopping, it may very well cripple your body and eventually kill you," Elder Kai said somberly.

"But why would be doing _that_?" Caroline then asked.

"My best guess is that your body is simply reacting to the principles of this dimension, making you have the ability to tap into both your natural ki and soul ki at the same time. A barrier like yours won't hold well in a world like this, but the best-case scenario would be that once your body adjusts and creates a limit for itself the more time you spend here, the breakdown will cease."

"But that still wouldn't make her a catalyst, right? Even if the barrier were to be broken, they still wouldn't be able to use her since she'd most likely die before they'd even be able to harness her soul ki," spoke Bardok. Caroline gulped hard after imagining Bardock's example. Thinking about dying in general made her feel a bit nauseas.

"Yes well, we don't know for sure if the Shadow Mages haven't found a way to get past that minor setback or not. We won't know until they arrive. I wouldn't get your hopes up just yet. The important thing you must focus on now is to make sure nothing happens to that seal until you discover your limit! For your own sake!" warned the old Kai. Once again he sighed and stared at the think tuffs of grass at his feet with a disgruntled expression.

"Those Mages…they've been causing nothing but chaos since the moment they arrived here. It's been like this for several months now. I've sensed so much confusion…so much terror…so much fear, and then, nothing at all."

"Where did they come from?" asked Caroline.

"Who knows? Probably the same sort of place you did, child. A far off dimension much different from ours. What scares me is that we have no way of knowing how many lives they've destroyed in other places prior to coming here. I just hope Goku, Uub and Kibito haven't run into any trouble with them yet."

"Have you been able to contact them at all?" asked Bardock concerned about the safety of his son.

"No, I'm afraid I haven't. Not for about three months now, at first I though Kibito had taken them one planet too far and lost the connection temporarily, but…so far after that I've sensed virtually nothing. I've talked to the Grand Kai and the others about the matter, but there's really nothing they can seem to do about it. For all we know, they could be somewhere far beyond their jurisdiction. They haven't been reported to King Yemma yet, so that's good. They're not dead, just gone."

Bardock then clenched his fists tightly with the same frustration he had held on to since his son's disappearance. Each bit of news he got seemed even more discouraging then the last.

"Dammit, Kakarot," he said under his breath.

"Goku…" was all Chi Chi could say as she stared at an old framed photograph of her and her family. It was taken just after the conflict with Majin Buu had ended. There the Sons had become a complete family again. But now her husband had vanished, her eldest son was about to leave, and the world was in terrible danger yet again. When she first heard the news that her husband had run off once more for the sake of the planet, her rage made her feel as though she could bring the whole house to rubble with her own two hands, but instead, she decided to channel all of her negative feelings into all of the house work, which proved to be good therapy for a while. But soon, after every dish had been washed, every load of laundry finished, every floor scrubbed, and after every speck of dust had been removed from the furniture, all she could do now was silently wait for her husband to return. Her father sat there next to her to try to ease her worry and placed a humungous hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be alright, dear," he then said.

Outside the house in the backyard, Goten and Trunks were busy exchanging rounds of kicks and punches, each while in their Super Saiyan levels.

"So how're things going between you and May?" Trunks asked his friend as he backed away from one of Goten's swift punches.

"It's okay I guess. I haven't been able to see her very much lately, thanks to all the studying and extra training," replied Goten as he aimed a high kick at Trunk's abdomen.

Trunks quickly pushed it aside with his hand and lunged as fast he could at his long-time friend. Goten did the same and it wasn't long before both boys were moving beyond what the human eye could follow. Each of them got their fair share of strikes to the face and body, but kept going nonetheless. This continued for a while until Goten backed off for a brief moment and hovered for a couple of seconds. The seriousness in his face soon melted away to one of curiosity.

"Hey Trunks?"

"Yeah?" his friend replied said as he landed to the ground.

"I know this isn't the first time my dad has done something like this, but from what Master Roshi said, those Shadow Mage guys sound like something my dad might have trouble handling alone."

"He's not alone. He brought Uub and Kibito with him remember?" reminded Trunks.

"Oh yeah. But…the fact that no one can seem to find out were he is, not even my _grandfather _and that he hasn't come back after all this time…it worries me. I mean, you'd think he would have tried to stop them by now or something." Goten then mirrored the same worried look that his mother had from inside the house. "You…you don't think he already tried and _failed_, do you?"

"Of course not. Like you said, your dad's done stuff like this before. He'll probably show up at the last minute to save our butts just like old times. He's fine, I'm sure of it," Trunks proudly assured.

"Heh, yeah," laughed Goten as he returned to normal. "I'm sure your right. I guess I shouldn't think about it that way, huh?"

Trunks then nodded and smiled. "Yep. The point is to always stay positive." Suddenly, his senses picked up on something coming in the distance. Goten soon followed and looked the same direction at where the incoming power level was coming from. Not too long after, Vegeta landed a few feet away from the two, and as usual he didn't look pleased.

"Dad? What are doing here?" asked Trunks. His father almost never came to the Son residence.

"Good, you've warmed up a little," replied his father, ignoring his son's question. "Trunks, I'm going to need you to come with me," he then ordered.

"Are we going to train again?"

"I'll explain later. First we have to find that McBride brat." Vegeta then gave another devious smirk. "After that, I want you to give her a little demonstration to kick off her next lesson."

Once Bardock had teleported himself and Caroline back into the valley from the Kai Planet, Caroline picked up her belongings from where she had left them and both soon flew off head back to the city.

"So let me get this straight, this entire time I've had this weird seal inside me to keep me from using the powers coming from my soul because in _my_ world too much could kill me. But since I got here that seal's weak because my body's now able to use large amounts of energy, but even then I could still die if I use too much, right?"

"Right. But that seal is supposed to prevent that from happening. What you have to do now is try to figure out what your limits are and work from there."

"But how do I find my limit?"

"Simple. You'll only find out until you push yourself."

"That's exactly what Vegeta says. But…how am I supposed to do that without breaking the seal?"

"I'm sure that won't happen. Hell, it seems the longer you stay here the stronger you become. The important thing is to get as strong as possible and to keep yourself in control. You think you can do that?" asked Bardock with an encouraging smile.

Caroline smiled back. "Yeah, I think so." Her smile then grew wider. "I'm just glad that I'm not what the bad guys are looking for."

As soon as they reached the city's center, Bardock then came to a stop and Caroline did the same. "Well, I have to be off. But before I go, how good would you say you are at sensing energy?"

"Uh…I haven't really been very good at. I'm not really sure if I can."

"That would explain why you didn't sense that blast earlier until just before it hit. I guess we'll have to work on that, won't we?"

"Really? You can teach me? Even the Instant Transmission?" enthusiastically asked Caroline.

"If you think you're up for it. Let me tell you right now, it won't be easy."

"Oh yes, yes! Definitely yes!"

"Well alright then. We'll be sure to get on that soon. I have to go. Good luck!" Before Caroline could say anything back, he instantly flew off to the western edge of the metropolis.

"Bye," she then said to herself. She then headed straight for Capsule Corp.

"Hold it right there!" yelled Vegeta from behind. His voice brought Caroline to a screeching halt. She turned was surprised to find Trunks hovering right beside his father.

"Uh…hi." Was all she could say.

"Back from another little adventure are you?" he asked obviously displeased.

"Vegeta! You wouldn't believe what Bardock and me just discovered! It turns out that—"

"Yes, I just saw the two of you discussing the Instant Transmission technique. Is _that _where you've been going this whole time? To him? Do you honestly think that he could train you any better than I could? That lousy dolt! Thinks he has the gall to try to teach _my_ pupil!"

"No. I told you I've been out training mys—"

"Whatever! I'll deal with that old fool later. Follow me, McBride. It's time to commence lesson three. And Trunks here is going to assist us."

"_Oh joy…"_ grumbled Caroline in her thoughts. But she obeyed her teacher's orders and followed the two Saiyans to the very outskirts of the city. Where they landed was nothing more than a large chunk of orange dry dirt with a few shrubs and patches of grass. The wind occasionally picked up a few dust clouds every now and again. Vegeta took out a small capsule and pushed it. Once the smoke vanished it was revealed to be Caroline's training armor.

"Put this on," ordered as he threw it to her. She caught it, but simply stared at it in confusion.

"Dad? What exactly are you planning for us to do out here?" asked Trunks as he studied the landscape.

"Lesson three of McBride's training involves one simple rule, to never underestimate your opponent. However, another rule can be pulled from that as well, to never underestimate _yourself_. In battle, if you know that you have the ability to crush your opposing fighter, you must be confident in your own skills in order to succeed. So, to answer your question, Trunks…you and McBride or going to fight."

"WHAT!" the two screamed as they looked up face Vegeta.

"There will be only two rules for you both to follow during this session: One, that the fight will continue until I say otherwise, and two…Do not. Hold. Back.

AN: Geez, I gotta get Part 1 of this story over with so we can move on to Part 2 already! Now I'm not saying that Part 1 isn't important, but you'll just have to believe me when I say that it's one of those stories that starts out slow but then KICKS BUTT after the first few chapters. It's something in which you have to pay attention to the details, because some important key factors are gonna apply waaaay later into the story. The thing is, I've been mentally reviewing scenes from future parts over and over again that I really wanna share with you readers, but I must keep things consistent, which sucks because things have been running kinda slow around here. But the good news is that I've graduated, so now I can do things that I actually want to do. Hopefully the pace will quicken and we'll kick things into high gear so we can make "Tale of Ages" live up to it's title. Also, I'm trying to make more organized art for each chapter, maybe one poster per chapter or something. I'll worry about that later, right now I'd like to say thanks to all who have reviewed my story so far and for the encouraging words you've put in them. They have been very uplifting and have kept me motivated these past few months so KEEP 'EM COMING!


	12. Chapter 12: The Real Third Lesson

Chapter 12: The Real Third Lesson

"Um, Dad, are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Trunk nervously. He was utterly dumbfounded at the idea of fighting with all his strength against someone his father had trained for only a few short weeks.

"Of course I'm sure! If I wasn't we wouldn't be doing this, now would we?" replied Vegeta, who was now perched atop a dirt hill.

"If you want me _dead_ so badly, why don't you leave Trunks out of this and just kill me yourself? I don't underestimate him at all! He'll flat out murder me!" protested Caroline as waved a fist at him.

"Well with that attitude, he most certainly will. Just think of this little exercise as a test over what you've learned over these past few weeks and how you're going to apply them in a _real_ battle. And with regards to your concern about dying, I'll be here to put the fight to an end if things get too ugly. Now put your armor on!"

"But…but Dad! I can't _fight_ her! I know Goku suspected she would strong, but she's nowhere _near_ ready for something like this!" He then glanced over to Caroline with a look of sympathy, "No offense."

"Oh no, I completely agree," she assured him.

"Oh dear, my ears _must_ be deceiving me, because I _know_ that my own son and student would know better than to _not_ follow my orders. Because if they did, they'd _also_ know that I'd find a way to make them instantly regret it."

"Vegetaaa!" begged Caroline.

"I didn't plan for this to take all damn day! So move it before you _both_ end up in stitches!" he yelled.

Since both son and student did in fact know better to do as the man said rather then complain, they followed his orders and began walking directly away from each other to get some appropriate distance.

"Think your dad's finally lost his mind?" Caroline asked Trunks as she stretched the plated armor over her torso.

"Not really, he usually has a plan behind things like this," replied Trunks as he turned to face his newly labeled opponent, unsure if his words were even true in this situation. He then looked back to take a glance at his father.

"But I _have_ been wrong before," he then muttered.

He then got into a ready stance with one fist put forward and the other aiming in the other direction, making his waist twist to the side as he bent his knees. He kept his now fully fixed gaze firmly at Caroline.

"I guess all I can say to you at this point is good luck."

"Thanks. Try not to mess me up too badly, okay?" Caroline asked as she got into her stance as well. Trunks didn't respond as he waited for his father's signal.

"Good. Now, both of you raise your power levels to your maximum," Vegeta ordered.

Trunks obeyed his father by letting a loud roar, which seemed to shake the wasteland around them. His lavender hair stood upward and then turned a golden yellow and his blue eyes changed to a shade of green. He was then surrounded by a golden aura with bits of dirt and rocks flying in different directions from the force of his power. Caroline didn't need to sense his energy to know she was in serious trouble as the wind emitting from his Super Saiyan form beat on her face.

"_Well…Now would be a great time for that seal to wear off,"_ she joked to herself, trying as best as she could to raise her power level. She had tried on several occasions during her time in the valley to try to unleash her hidden power, but never had the chance to see how strong it really made her. Now was obviously that chance. She too yelled at the top of her lungs to force the strength out of her. Her white and blue aura brightened and grew the more she concentrated and she could feel it all flowing through her. Trunks raised a brow in surprise at how much her power had grown in such a short amount of time.

Once both of them were seemingly ready, Vegeta observed the two fighters and the area surrounding them, smiling with the thought of a battle about to commence, almost wishing he himself could be a part of it. Once he thought the mood was just right, he gave one final command.

"Begin."

Caroline instinctively made the first to move out of habit, since Vegeta had always coaxed her to do so during sessions. She gave a loud cry as she flew forward to land a simple punch aimed straight at Trunk's jaw. Trunks quickly moved out of the way then blurred out of view. Movement caught her peripheral vision and she instantly spun around to catch his incoming foot. After throwing it aside, she mirrored the idea and kicked at his abdomen, but it merely pushed him a foot or two away, virtually having no effect on him. She then flew back about ten feet and charged up a large amount of white energy in both hands. Once on target, she blasted with all her might.

"HHHAAAA!"

Once again, Trunks evaded it, and in a flash kneed her straight in her stomach as her attack exploded loudly down below. The painful force of the blow was extremely close to utterly unbearable. Still, she tried to fight through it and continued to lay down her assault towards Trunks' upper body. He caught almost every punch as she struggled to move her limbs faster and faster, but no progress appeared. Every hit that she _did_ manage to land left no mark and never once caused Trunks to change his driven stare. This exchange continued for several minutes, which felt like mere seconds to the fighters. Finally Trunks spiced things up by first hitting Caroline straight in the chin and then flying a few feet away to charge one of his own attacks. Like her, his hand brought forth a large ball of white ki.

"Flash Bang!" he yelled as he threw it straight at his opponent.

There were a few ways that Vegeta had taught Caroline to stop a ki blast, which were either canceling it out with the arms, the hands, or if you had the strength, just plain deflecting it with the thrust of an arm. Knowing that last idea wouldn't have a chance with her, Caroline put her arms in front of her to make a defensive "X" and concentrated all the energy she had into making her an immovable, impenetrable wall. Once the blast collided with her body, the burning sensation went throughout to her very core and the force sent her straight to the hard ground, digging her a few inches deep in the dirt.

"Guess I could've…tried to dodge that one," she said as she got herself up. She didn't like the way things were going, and especially didn't like how horribly she was doing. Seeing Vegeta's sour face from the hill was enough to prove it was bad. For once in those long, grueling four weeks she had known him, she hated the idea of disappointing him. She _at least_ wanted to do _some_ damage to Trunks before he mangled her, but nothing she tried would leave a scratch. She didn't have much time to think as Trunks dove to where she was standing feet first. Thankfully, she _was_ able to dodge that. As Trunks landed, the ground caved and the shockwave seemed to make it ripple like water, with a few large chunks of rock shooting out from the dirt. Again they both partook in a series of kicks and punches, with Caroline receiving most of the blows. She tried blasting at him as hard as she could so she could have time to think.

"_No! Thinking's the __**problem**__, you're doing it too much!"_ said her own voice in the back of her head. _"Vegeta said that you getting angry was what unlocks your strength, so find a way to get severely ticked off! Now!"_

Again, she wasn't given much time to dwell on the subject since Trunks was only delayed for about five seconds. He came at her with another swift swing, but Caroline quickly back flipped out of harm's way. After landing in a crouched position facing Trunks, she lunged forward and attempting a barrage of high, low, and side kicks. Her speed proved to be an advantage in some instances and she was even able to finally make a few marks on Trunks' face and shoulders. But it didn't last long. He then vanished in a blur and left Caroline in a world of confusion, unable to spot him. Then out of nowhere he phased from behind and struck her upper back with both his hands weaved together to make one powerful fist. This again sent her to the ground. Hard. Trunks landed right next to her motionless body laying flat with the front side of her body pressed to the ground and attempted one more punch to the neck. Caroline instantly rolled from the directed spot, causing his arm to break through over a foot of underground dirt. The opportunity arose for Caroline to leap up and attack any possible openings that were available before Trunks regained his mobility and the use of both of his arms, with as much speed and strength as possible.

Vegeta watched silently as the two went at it for a few moments, watching every single move his son and pupil made. However, he knew from the very beginning that his son was hiding something.

"Hmph. I give him direct orders and he _refuses_ to fight at full power. Disobedient…"

He then noticed that McBride wasn't fighting at full strength either, explaining her growing wounds, which made him all the more furious.

"What the hell do they think they're doing? I told them specifically to—Arg! Is really that difficult to simply listen to me?" he growled. Still, he said he would only intervene if one of them were about to die, so he had no real choice other than to observe how things played out.

Caroline skidded away a good distance with her feet across the dirt plane, trying to catch her breath. At this rate, if she let her body rest and let the seal do its thing she knew that would be the end of it. She could just imagine giving in to the fatigue and then Trunks beating her to near death until his father gave him the signal to stop. She had been beaten badly before, but never by someone at a Super Saiyan level! The fact that she was still standing with moderate injuries after the short amount of time that had already passed seemed like an outright miracle. But divine intervention wouldn't last forever, eventually her body will begin to cave if she didn't move soon to-

"_STOP THINKING!"_ she shouted to herself in her mind. _"I have to focus somehow soon or else I'm gonna die before the Mages even get here! Maybe I should-_Ack!"

Another kick to the cheek cut off her thoughts. Her mind was too distracted to see Trunks come at her with a hard knee to the back. As the hit sent her flying, Trunks materialized in front of her and gathered some ki. He then charged and punched her in her abdomen with his electrified hand. The blast caused Caroline to collide with the side of a barren plateau, sending a few small rocks to crumble and fall around her. Now her clothes were becoming completely torn and her mouth and gashes began to stream blood. She could feel her bones vibrate and ache at each new and recent injury. Her armor was now cracked and missing a few pieces around the edges.

"Feel free to end this at any time, Vegeta!" she screamed angrily at the currently invisible overseer. The pain was getting so bad, she had to keep her eyes shut to try to mentally push it out from her concentration. But she knew he wouldn't. He just stood atop the hill and continued to watch.

"This is ridiculous! I know I'm faster than this! I bet I could be avoiding so much bodily damage right now but noooo, my berserker button just won't work today! Nothing about this feels right! Why I am I not **getting anywhere**? Ugh, this would probably be so much easier if so many thoughts weren't putting so much weight on my darn head!"

"Wait…"

Her eyes then shot open and grew wide with hope. She glanced down at her arms legs and chest. Each still had the black training weights firmly strapped on to them. That's when everything clicked.

"The weights! That's it! All I have to do is take these bad boys off and—" she then noticed an intense light in the upper corner of her eye. She looked up to find Trunks with both his hands high above his head gathering more and more bright yellow ki.

"Big Tree…"

"Aw, crap," was all she managed to say before Trunks brought down both hands and delivered the crushing blast.

"CANNON!"

The large amount of yellow ki instantly went straight to Caroline's spot. Along with the intense light and smoke from the blast, the shock caused the neighboring hills to be affected also as pieces closest to the wave chipped off and disappeared. The plateau itself broke apart with a loud rumble as varying sizes of it tumbled and shattered onto the open ground. Because of its previously dry state, a large screen of dust combined with the smoke, which made it impossible go see through.

Trunks, being unable to see or barely read Caroline's own presence, worriedly scanned through the brownish haze to try and find her in one piece. Without any luck, his emotions finally appeared on his face.

"C-Caroline? CAROLINE!" he called out. What he got for a response was nothing. He then turned to Vegeta, still looking down at the site with the exact same look as when he started this insanely odd match. This angered Trunks even more.

"FATHER! This has gone way too far! Stop the match and help me see if she's okay down there!" he called in a furious tone.

"_I_ am not doing anything. This fight is far from over!" he yelled back, with absolutely no interest in his son's concern.

"What are talking about? Look what I did! I can barely feel her energy, she could be dying!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Vegeta responded.

He son merely gave him back a very puzzled expression.

"Take a look," Vegeta then suggested.

As Trunks looked back down at the smoking rubble, he saw the things that were to be expected: large piles of rock scattered all over the place and…training gear?

Indeed, as the smoke cleared the objects became much more visible. The only things that seemed to be left of Caroline were two smoldering remains of her un-strapped training weights laying almost neatly on top of one of the stacks of rubble, with a few strands of her tattered clothing blowing away with the wind. Trunks stared down over the rubble growing all the more confused.

"But…But were could she have-?" Something then instantly picked up on Trunks' senses. The source came from above, and as he looked to see if it was Caroline, it was too late.

"BONSAIIIIIII!" she cried and she joined her fists together high above her head, flying straight down to Trunks at an extremely high speed. Before Trunks could react, Caroline hammered straight down on his skull with all the strength she had. Her hit made his whole body lean forward and curl under. His eyes instantly opened, and with his own speed, tightly grabbed one of her now bare arms and threw her far to his side. Caroline quickly reacted by cart wheeling in mid air, then landing safely on the edge of nearby cliff. Her expression looked much more confident before as she looked up to Trunks with a smirk. She breathed heavily for a moment to get some air.

"Sorry (huff) for the wait. I (huff) needed a little extra time getting this vest off," she finally said as held the tattered thing up in front of her.

"Caroline! You're alright! Ow…" Trunks moaned as he rubbed the side of his head where he was hit. "Man that actually kinda hurt."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Y'know, you're pretty ruthless when you're told to be," Caroline replied as she crossed her arms.

"Yeah well…it's sort of become a habit. How did you avoid that blast?" Trunks asked, trying to figure out the reason behind Caroline's new attitude.

"You'll have to thank your dad for that, but the main reason is that I found myself a lot faster once I got some of this gear off," she explained as she began to un-strap the last ones on her legs.

"When Bardock first gave me these things, I thought he was absolutely nuts for thinking I could actually use them. He must've known my powers would keep me from getting seriously hurt from wearing these stupid things. To be honest, I never really bothered checking to see just how much weight he was putting on me every week since I couldn't take them off. But from what I remember during the first week, I weighed my leg on one of those bathroom scales and it registered around one-fifty, which was really awful the first couple of days. It felt like my back was going to snap in two. But now I understand why he would always stress keeping them on, so my body would get fully used to it. Like twenty-four seven gravity training." She then un-strapped the weight from her other leg and looked at it carefully.

Vegeta growled at the thought of Bardock, yet again, butting in with his own training techniques.

"And after looking at what these weights are labeled on the inside, I guess each new weight probably doubles that of the old one, which would explain why these pieces of training gear each say they're weighed six hundred pounds! Which means the first week, I was dragging around over seven hundred and fifty pounds as a whole when you count the five separate weights placed on me, last week I was carrying probably around fifteen hundred, and today that would be…?" Caroline trailed off trying to do the math in her head.

"About three thousand pounds." answered Trunks with a look of disbelief.

"Yeah that!" exclaimed Caroline as she stretched her arms to her sides, each holding a weight. As she let them fall to the ground, they instantly sunk into the cracked dirt with a loud thud.

"Whoo! I feel lighter than a feather already!" she breathed in relief as she literally floated from the ground, feeling virtually weightless.

"Now! Let's get try that power up again!" Once again she gave a loud yell as she concentrated with every fiber of her being, and her aura erupted. Like Trunks, the ground below her started to break. This was what she looking for, the intoxicating power being charged through every cell in her body. Whether it was her soul ki or natural ki, she didn't care. She knew she was still outmatched by Trunks, and her increase didn't heal any of her injuries, but she now had a much bigger chance of holding her own for the time being.

She then zoomed from her spot, at speed she thought were humanly unreachable. She once again attacked Trunks with one fist following another. Trunks was still able to avoid the majority of them, but whenever he retaliated with a move of his own, she'd quickly move out of the way in an instant. The two darted from place to place all over the sky, with speeds that seemed almost evenly matched. Trunks noticed that even though the overall strength of her punches was considerably greater, her enhancement of speed was what blew him away. Were it not for his sensing abilities, he would've had a great deal of trouble tracking her movements, but even now it wasn't exactly easy. Her energy was pulsating all over the place, and she was coming about at practically every angle to try and hit her way at an open spot. She then found probably the only perfect moment to strike as she phased from one side to the next. Before Trunks could pick up her signal, Caroline slugged a hard swipe of her fist across his face, which sent him down to the rocks. He caught himself by landing with his hands and feet but suddenly felt something warm and wet drizzle down to his mouth.

"_Holy crap, I made him bleed!"_ thought Caroline.

"_Holy crap, she made me bleed!" _Trunks thought at the same time as Caroline as he wiped the blood from his nose.

He then snorted and faced his attacker with a smile. "Heh, not bad. Dad never mentioned you being so fast. That's gonna be an advantage in the future."

"Um…thank you?" Caroline predicted that he'd spiral into a fit of rage rather than compliment her.

"Well, would you look at that! A grown male Super Saiyan getting his face beat in by an obnoxious female Earthling. You really disappoint me, boy!" yelled Vegeta from afar.

"He's _winning_ you crazy, psychotic—"

"Hey, it's okay! He's just trying to get me a little angry to raise my power level," explained Trunks calmly. He then flew up and threw another quick round of punches. As he did, he silently began conversation.

"Look, I know this whole thing seems nothing more than a pointless kick in the teeth, but hear me out. I didn't understand why my dad arranged this fight at first, but it's clear to me now. You have to understand the meaning behind what my dad was saying earlier. Yes, underestimating your opponent is a big mistake, but it's also the easiest of the rules to learn. He knows you understand that already."

"So why are we fighting?" Caroline asked as she followed his lead.

"My dad isn't just testing you to see how you fight against stronger opponents. The only way that you'll be able to beat them is to believe with your heart and soul that you _can_ and _will_ beat them. You can't simply give up when things look bad or hopeless. That's what my dad meant when he said to never underestimate _yourself_. Another thing that tends to happen in this world is that if you fight for the right reasons and never give up, you're guaranteed a victory. Dad taught me the same way a long time ago, that's why he picked _me_ to do this. That's why this final lesson is being so extreme."

Caroline pushed herself back to absorb all she had just heard. Trunks was right. In this universe, more likely than not, every villain that comes around will be stronger than her. So inevitably, she would still have to fight regardless of power differences. Now, she had to focus on another villain, her self-doubt in her abilities. Her own doubt, even before coming to this world, had always interfered in her life, but she never looked at it as a major issue. But now that wasn't the case. If she let her fear get the best of her here, it would mean the death of her. Both Vegeta _and _Goku had gone through many trials in the past where they faced unbelievably powerful adversaries and had to overcome their fear and had to believe in themselves in order to win, despite the odds. That's what Vegeta meant when she shouldn't underestimate herself, because he thought she could do the same. She looked back to find him still gazing at them both on the hill a great distance away. She didn't know whether to feel grateful to him for the challenge he had given her or whether to just fly up and smack him across the face.

"He really thinks I'm _that_ strong?" she asked, still looking in Vegeta's direction.

"You'd have to be to hurt my nose like that," Trunks assured.

After taking another moment to think, she turned back to face Trunks. "Okay, message received. But what exactly are we gonna do? We can't keep fighting till one of us drops dead…which is probably gonna be me soon."

"_My speed won't last forever…"_ she dreaded.

"Don't worry, my dad won't let it come to that. Still, he's trying to see how'd you'd fair fighting at full strength, so if you ask me…" he then imitated his father's devious smirk, "I say we just give him what he wants."

"Isn't that what we've _been_ doing?"

"Well to tell you the truth, I've kinda been holding back this whole time. I've, heh, never had to fight a girl before, trained by my father or not," he replied with a nervous laugh.

"You don't say?" asked Caroline with a smile.

"But it's not just me. We're _both_ holding ourselves back because neither of us are completely comfortable with fighting each other. So, to take the pressure off, why not go all out just for the fun of it, to see what happens? With your speed and my Super Saiyan strength, it'll be interesting," he encouraged.

"I…I don't know if I can, Trunks. I'm not going to be able to keep up for much longer," Caroline admitted as she lowered her arms in shame. It seemed impossible at the moment.

"Alright well how 'bout this? Just imagine this as a scene from that show you've seen us on." _That_ changed her course of thinking instantly.

"And…imagine that _you're_ going to win." The Super Saiyan's prospect didn't take long for Caroline to debate.

"Done. Let's do this!" She then got her mind set once again as she channeled all of her excitement into abundant energy, powering up for a final time.

"Let's," Trunks replied as he did the same. Soon, both of their auras glowed with intensity, and brightened even more when they collided time, time, and time again. The vibrant clash of yellow and blue exploded at every corner of the sky. As before, Trunks led the offence, while Caroline carried on with her defensive dodging. This was when she silently thanked Vegeta for putting her through his first lesson. She had become much more tolerant to the painful blows, most of which Trunks still walloped her with. Her new super speed luckily prevented too many from severely hurting her.

This round continued all across the wasteland, until Caroline once again found an opening. She acted quickly and collected as much ki as she could in her short time. She fired the large blue wave at his exposed back and it pushed him dozens of feet towards the ground. Before he hit, he stopped himself once again. His feet dug deep into the soil as he used his arms to prevent the light from coming any closer to him. Caroline noticed this and decided to try flying straight through the blast while Trunks was distracted and give him a good kick in the chest.

Once attaining an increased momentum, she hoped her own ki wouldn't hurt her, but continued anyway. Once she entered the light she knew she'd hit him, but to her surprise, she suddenly felt a strong grip tighten around her foot. She used the energy she had left to stay motionless in the air as the radiance from her creation began to fade. Her eyes widened when she saw that Vegeta was the one who had his grip on her shoe with one hand and the other stretched out in front of his surprised son. The match had finally ended.

"Father?"

"You two think this is just some sort of silly game?" he asked with a hint of rage in his voice. Trunks then powered down to normal, revealing a few extra cuts and bruises that Caroline didn't seem to notice.

"I said to fight at your maximum for a reason! This wasn't just for McBride's benefit, it was to test both of your strength's in battle, not to mention the fact that you two disobeyed my orders and carried this battle out much longer than intended. I wanted to see what I saw in those last ten minutes what I should've seen almost a full hour ago!"

"Well in our defense, this 'demonstration' you organized was a bit unexpected," interjected Trunks.

"Oh, and you think the next threat that comes along is going to send a memo before they blast the Earth to bits?" mocked Vegeta.

"What about Caroline then? She's barely been here a full month and you think something like _this_ this early into her training is the best course of action?"

"Excuse me…" came Caroline's weary voice from behind the two. After being released from Vegeta's grasp, she landed quietly to observe the incoming argument. She didn't feel exactly tired, just extremely lightheaded and was soon seeing black specs in her vision.

"So…did I…did I pass or wha—" With that, she fell to the ground, battered and covered in dirt and bruises. After that, it all went black.

…

Caroline woke up several hours later in her bed, noticing first that her room was oddly dim and that she had a terrible taste in her mouth. She looked over to find that her bag of senzu had been open. Evidently someone had used them to heal her wounds since there wasn't a scratch left on her. She also found that her weights were gone, making her feel a bit unbalanced when she hopped off the bed.

She stumbled her way down the hall to the living area to find Vegeta leaning against the wall by the window. It was sundown and its red and orange luminance reflected all around the room.

"Please tell me that me fighting Trunks as a Super Saiyan wasn't just an insanely real dream," she begged as she rolled on the couch.

"Just consider yourself lucky that you didn't choke to death on one of those beans. It took you a good fifteen minutes before you finally remembered the concept of swallowing."

"So that explains why my tongue tastes like-How did you find out about the senzu beans?" Caroline asked as her head peaked out behind the couch frame.

"How do you think? Lately you've been going from being banged up one day to being completely fine the next? I should've known Bardock would assist you in more ways than just giving away those training weights."

"But they both have been really helpful, right? I mean today was amazing, incredibly life-threatening, but for the most part amazing!"

Vegeta simply grunted as he continued to stare out the window. His thoughts seemed to be somewhere else.

"So where's Trunks?"

"Gravity Room. If you remember anything from today, then you'll know that my son has a great need of improvement."

"Oh I beg to differ. He would've kicked the daylights out of me in a second if he really wanted to."

Vegeta didn't respond. With nothing to say herself, she stared back down at the floor in silence. Then, another thought came to mind.

"You have a really odd way of teaching people lessons, Vegeta. But it was interesting because…this one kinda went two different ways, and one way was kind of a contradiction."

This caused Vegeta to strike her a confused look. After noticing, she tried to nervously explain.

"Because since you knew I already got the concept of underestimating opponents and all, you made me try not to underestimate my own strength instead. And the other way works sort of backwards because Trunks probably…underestimated me…like I did, you know? So it was more, like, instead of me not underestimating my opponent, my opponent shouldn't underestimate me! So you see? It works in two…ways…"

It was obvious that her rambling wasn't getting through to him, either that or he simply didn't care. Once again, the two shared an awkward moment of silence.

"Just get back to bed, McBride," Vegeta finally spoke.

"Yes sir!" Caroline saluted as she sprung from the couch.

But just before she entered the hallway, she stopped, and turned to Vegeta again.

"I just remembered…Trunks said during the fight that this was the final lesson, but there's one more left, right? About never runing away from a battle?"

"Yes, but you'll have to understand that there is a major difference between the fighting that you just took part in today and what's soon to come. You won't know the enemy like you know my son, which will completely change your perspective on the field. There's never a way of knowing if you'll flee or fight until you face the enemy yourself, thus it's a lesson I can't really teach you. All I can do is get you more and more prepared for it," said Vegeta as he watched the red sun lower itself behind the multiple buildings of the city.

Caroline again chose to say nothing and look at the floor, but after a moment her face lifted back up with a smile.

"Y'know? You're a very complex guy."

"And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Vegeta yelled defensively.

"N-nothing! It's just from seeing everything from your childhood, you switching sides, even what happened between you and Babidi, it's made you into a very developed and relatable character," quivered Caroline with her hands raised.

"Again, _what_ is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It means that it made you real, more real than probably anyone else on the show…well, to some of the fellow fans back home at least. It certainly made watching it all the more fun. See ya!" She then made her way to her room, leaving Vegeta to his thoughts. He honestly didn't know how to react to what he just heard, to him it was either flattering or foolish. But, since the girl was far beyond whacking distance he decided to let it slide. He had more pressing things to think about, mostly regarding what happened several hours prior.

"No human, special training or not…should be able to do what she did today in just three weeks."


	13. Chapter 13: Looking Back

Chapter 13: Looking Back

The constant humming and beeping of the different assortment of machines and computers were beginning to annoy Vegeta and he waited for Dr. Briefs. The doctor's large-screened super computer needed to take some time to download and collect all the necessary data from his latest files. After a few more clicks to his main keyboard, the screen flickered and instantly piled up with a variety of individual windows that revealed DNA charts, graphics, wave-tracking data, and even footage of what appeared to be red blood cells circulating under the eye of a microscope.

"Well, that's about all I've been able to gather," Dr. Briefs said as he removed the smoldering cigarette from his mouth. "It's really quite fascinating isn't it?" he added as he sorted through the many windows.

"Yes it's all well and good, but what can you tell me about the genes? Anything unusual?" Vegeta asked impatiently as he walked closer to the screen.

"Nope. Everything I've analyzed has been registered completely human. No mutations, no irregular coding, not even the slightest difference between our genetic makeup and hers. She even has our most common blood type!" marveled the old doctor as he continued to look through his research. "Even now, I still can't believe that there are human beings from a whole 'nother world that possess the exact same characteristics to our own species! It's very intriguing, wouldn't you say?"

Vegeta didn't answer. He continued to look at the overlapping pages of data until it stopped at a window that contained both a front head shot of Caroline and a model of her intertwining DNA to the right of it, with little bulletins scattered around picking out additional information. It had almost been two weeks since she and Trunks fought in the outskirts of the city, and now, her training had fallen into Bardock's hands for the time being, which kept him from monitoring her process. He knew that he was missing something important. Since day one, he had known that there was something downright odd about McBride, but now, after seeing what she was capable of just the other day, a mere human being able to go against a Super Saiyan of his own flesh and blood thanks to her increasing powers, he wanted to find out once and for all just what made that girl tick.

"It's called soul ki."

"_Soul_ ki?" Trunks asked as he walked down the busy sidewalk of the city, alongside Caroline, Goten, and his sister, who was too sucked into her video game to care about the conversation.

"Yeah. It's energy that comes straight from my spirit. Here, it doesn't really do anything for you guys unless your dead, but apparently back home it serves as our number one energy source. Old Kai said that to keep us from abusing it and dying from overload, this seal, barrier-whatever it's supposed to be-keeps it in check. But since I got here, it's slowly coming apart. On the up side, it makes me be able to fly and do all the stuff you guys can. It's like it's energized my entire body! To be honest, I've never felt this good in my entire life!" said Caroline with a wide smile.

"But you aren't freaking out? What if the seal goes away completely? It could totally kill you!" warned Goten.

"Goten!" scolded Trunks.

"It's okay," Caroline reassured. "Old Kai also said that once my body gets used to this place the seal should too. So for now I'm just gonna assume it'll stop soon. But I'll have to be a little more careful next time I go sparing. If I go too far, I'll just keep blacking out like the first time."

"Yeah, it's no wonder you were so exhausted afterwards. Anyone else fighting at your speed would end up having their heart explode. How did you do it?" asked Trunks.

"I'm not sure. Aside from my ki, those weights probably did most of it," thought Caroline as she tugged her sleeve over an exposed strap. She wasn't sure how Bardock did it, but every new set he gave her looked exactly the same as the last, yet felt twice as heavy. It was a pain to try and hide them under her clothes

"So, now that your last lesson's over with, what's Vegeta been teaching you now?" Goten then asked.

"He's still training me, just not as often. I was actually hoping he'd let Bardock keep training me for a while so he can spend more time with Trunks." She almost couldn't believe what she was saying. She had now officially adapted to using the top conversation topic all the other defenders of the world used: training, training, and more training.

"How's that going by the way?" Trunks asked curiously.

"Weeeeell…" she began.

* * *

Yesterday morning…

"I'm not really sure what I'm 'sposed to be learning from all this!" Caroline yelled as he wandered through the flowered fields of the enclosed valley. She'd know where she was heading if it wasn't for the white cloth tied around her eyes. The rope used to bind her arms behind her back didn't help much either. All she could feel were the gnats on her face and the tall plants brushing against her legs along with the breeze.

_You're not supposed to trace one's energy with your eyes; it's all about using the other senses._ Bardock's voice echoed in her brain.

"Isn't it cheating to use your telepathy?"

_Not necessarily._

"Well how about my arms? Can't I use my sense of touch?"

_You'll only be using your arms for offensive and defensive fighting. Right now this exercise is to help you locate and evade the enemy before you strike._

"I still don't understand why you tied them u—Ohmygosh!" cut off Caroline as she fell flat on her face thanks to some unseen object that tripped her.

"Just for the sake of a good challenge," answered Bardock with a leg still extended. It didn't long for Caroline to realize the reason behind her falling.

She then groaned miserably in the dirt as a response.

"Don't give me that. I told you this wouldn't be easy."

"I don't know what's more embarrassing, being beaten half to death by your trainer everyday or walking aimlessly in a field, blinded and roped up," she said as she got back on her feet.

"Just remember your objective. You have to try to use your senses to try to keep me from being able to touch you."

As he spoke, Bardock then began to ascend into the air.

"Let's try again. Now once things get quite, you're going to have to really focus. When you finally acknowledge me, you'll have to put Vegeta's first lesson to the test again. The whole point is to dodge, got it?"

"When this is all over, I'm going to find and kill whoever invented that word."

"Way to get the blood pumping! Remember, you have _feel_ my presence not see it, once that happens no harm will come to you."

"Sure, piece of cake…if I were a freaking clairvoyant like everyone _else_ here seems to be!" she screamed into the black void. She didn't really know what to do after that. She decided to simply stand in place and somehow observe her surroundings. She could hear the waves of grass sway from the cool wind at every angle. Small birds tweeted in the neighboring woods. The crisp mountain air and the sweet flowers filled her nostrils. She could feel her heart keep a fast beat as she waited for any sign of movement.

_"Okay focus. It can't be that hard to sense energy. It's kinda like having a tricked out spidey sense, right? So if any real danger comes my way, my spidey sense will kick in and I'll be just—"_

A twig suddenly snapped in the distance.

"Whatwasthat!" she shrieked.

"Bardock?….Bardock?" she then called. No answer came.

"Bardock, this is ridiculous! We've been doing this for two days now, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to learn anything unless I face this head on! So stop with the hide and seek nonsense and just hit me already!"

Instantly, she heard a quick zip of an incoming body from behind. The muscles of her body that were facing the noise tensed and sprung into action. She then pounced to the far left and instantly heard impact to the ground beside her. The grass then hissed from a quick gust heading in her direction. She bent her body to the side, feeling the air coming off a swift swing of a fist. She then jumped again far to the side. For a moment she grinned with triumph, until a sudden strike to the back knocked her once more flat on her face.

"Ask and you shall receive," said Bardock as he stood over her with a smirk.

Once again, all Caroline could reply with was a tired groan.

...

"This is impossible!" she sighed as she laid herself down in the grass by her favorite tree. After three hours of not gaining any initial progress, the two decided to take a break.

"You'd think the word 'impossible' would be an obsolete word for you, considering what you've gone through these past few weeks," Bardock replied as he did some one-handed pushups nearby.

"I just don't see how it's so hard. My other senses are fine, but my spider sense just plain sucks."

Bardock stopped mid-pushup. "What type of sense?"

"Nothing."

"Look, it's only been two days. Give it time. You think it was that easy for the rest of us?"

"I guess you're right. Maybe I should try it with these weights off." She then began to un-strap her leg. "A couple thousand pounds off my back would probably help."

Just as she was about to open the first strap…**Boink!** Another projectile stone was thrown at her skull.

"OW! Alright, that's _it_! Where is that…coming…from." she turned to find Bardock standing upright, tossing a stone and catching it with one hand, harboring an angry glare.

"*_Gasp_* YOU!" Caroline yelled as she pointed a finger at his direction.

"Consider yourself lucky. I was about to move it up to the larger rocks," the man said as he threw the rock straight to the nearby lake with no effort whatsoever.

"What are you, some kind of stalker?! Just following me here everyday to hit me with something? I thought I was going nuts!"

"When I told you the weights would help you if you kept them on, I had hoped you would've followed orders. But, as expected, I had to keep you in check."

Caroline struggled to spit out any possible curses at the Saiyan as crickets pleasantly chirped in the valley.

"Now, what do you say we go again?" Bardock then asked with a grin.

* * *

"It's been an interesting experience," Caroline said as she finished reliving her flashback.

"Hey, Trunks! Goten!" came a familiar voice from further up the street. Up by the entrance to the plaza stood a group containing a graying Krillin, along with his wife, Eighteen and young daughter, Marron. Hana and Raditz were also standing with them.

"Hey guys! Long time, no see," spoke Krillin as he approached the younsters. "You guys ready to do a little shopping?"

"We're not, but _she_ is!" said Goten as he shoved Caroline to the front of the group.

"You guys aren't coming?" asked Caroline.

"Nah, we gotta keep training. Mom said you needed new clothes and Krillin's family goes shopping all the time. With them, you'll learn every inch of the store. And besides, Bra will be with you, along with the credit card."

"I just tagged along so I could get a new game," commented Bra, still focused on her hand-held system.

"We'll get you in a couple hours. Just don't go crazy. Bye!" exclaimed Trunks. With that, both half-Saiyans flew off from the main entrance, leaving behind a few startled bystanders back on the ground.

Krillin was the first to approach the blonde teenager. "So you're Bulma's new guest in need of a new wardrobe, huh? Well you've come to the right people! My daughter and the Mrs. here are shopping extraordinaires, just check my bank account," he joked. Eighteen didn't seem to approve of her husband's sense of humor as she crossed her arms, and Marron simply stood by her mother and analyzed Caroline. Hana chuckled as she and Raditz entered the store.

Once inside themselves, Krillin and Eighteen told the kids that they would wait at the food court until they returned, and after that they would have lunch. Throughout the many different floors there were dozens of different shops for clothing, all of which Marron and Bra seemingly knew by heart. Marron was much shyer than Caroline had expected throughout most of the spree. She did however lead her to some very impressive apparel shops, where Caroline did in fact make the majority of her purchases. It wasn't until the two came across a beautiful violet-stoned necklace being displayed in a nearby window that they made a connection.

"That's so gorgeous!" they both remarked simultaneously. Their faces were pressed hard against the glass, trying to get the best look of it.

Upon realizing it, both instantly glanced at the other until Marron blushed and turned away from embarrassment.

"Oh, you like this too?" asked Caroline.

"Y-yeah, I do. I like the color of the rock the most. Purple's my favorite," Marron said softly.

"No kidding! You wanna go inside and check some more out?"

Marron paused out of surprise but then smiled, "Sure."

Afterwards, both girls grew to know each other better as the hour passed. It turned out that Marron was the exact same age as Caroline and obviously had some similar tastes in fashion. While going from store to store they swapped stories of their home life and eventually became quite comfortable around each other. Just before they hopped the escalators to get to the food court, they saw Raditz and Hana again walking by, Raditz carrying the bags. It was one of the most bizarre things Caroline had ever seen, Raditz being an average gentleman.

"I wonder what he's doing here," she wondered out loud.

"Who, Raditz? Hana must've brought him to help shop for the baby," said Marron as she scooped her newest bag over an arm. "It's weird. He usually never goes out like this."

"Raditz having a kid…ugh, the idea still makes me a little dizzy," Caroline sighed as she slapped a hand on her forehead.

"He doesn't seem like the fathering type, does he? I know what you mean. When I was little he would always scare me whenever I'd have to meet him, but now he's not so bad."

"Does he visit Kame House often?"

"Yeah, he and Hana used to a lot, but not much nowadays. You've gotten to talk to him, right?"

"Yeah, that bit could've definitely gone better," she said as she looked back on probably one of the most awkward conversations in her life. Having to tell someone they died horribly in another life (so to speak) is no easy business, but the fact that he got a second chance here in this life, was still something to take in.

"He's just so…different," she again said to herself.

"What do you mean by that?" curiously asked Marron. Almost as if on cue, Krillin was the first to great the girls at the bottom of the escalators.

"Hey ladies! Looks like you two certainly did some damage up there," he joked again. He then tried to peer behind them. "And what about you, Bra? Did you get what ya wanted?"

"Uh-huh," she said proudly as she held up her small bag, along with a few others hanging from her arm.

"Well, what're we hanging around here for? Let's eat!" exclaimed Krillin.

* * *

_Meanwhile in an incoming space ship, still many light years away from Earth…_

"Commander Essepe!" Cried the maroon-scaled, alien messenger as he quickly approached the being in question. As he knelt, he was breathing heavily after running through numerous hallways of the large spacecraft to reach the briefing room. Despite his comrade's arrival, the large figure, the "commander", continued to have his back turned as he looked at a holographic image of his latest target, the galaxies of the northern quadrant. If it weren't for the lights coming from the hologram, the room they were both in would've been pitch black.

"What is it, lieutenant?" the tall one asked to his second in command, never once moving from his current stance.

"Good news, commander! It would appear that a planet in the northern quadrant containing high amounts of energy has been spotted," exclaimed the lieutenant. "Our readers have never seen so much abundant life in one place before. It's the perfect find!"

"Nothing more than a few heavy specs of civilization and wildlife, no doubt. It'll be a routine harvest, just like all the rest," replied the lieutenant's superior, with absolutely no enthusiasm in his tone.

"But sir," delightfully interjected the lieutenant. "I haven't even told you the best part yet." The smile he then produced gave forth rows of white, jagged, shark-like teeth around his slick, scaled mouth. His next few words were lifted with an excited and almost sadistic temperament. "We've also found that the planet houses beings loaded with impressive amounts of energy. They may even have what we're looking for."

This made his superior officer turn his head slightly to look at his speaker.

With his commander's full attention, the lieutenant happily gave the details.

"There aren't very many of them, but most are clustered in a specific area on the main continent. If our readings are correct, they may in fact prove to be quiet the challenge upon our arrival," he sneered with anticipation.

"And the most ideal offerings to our master we've had yet," added the commander as he finally turned to his alien comrade and walked towards him. His cape flowed at the great strides his long legs produced.

"We've already sent in the reports to Lord Aizel and the others back at headquarters. Once we're a few light years further toward the uh…" the lieutenant quickly scanned his papers for the specific name of the galaxy they were directed to engage in, "the…The _Milky Way_ galaxy, Aizel may very well give us the 'okay' to weed through the planet. I suggest that when we do, we first target the area containing the strongest powers and then—"

"Lord Aizel can be far too cautious with his strategies. Because of the distance, he'd probably ask for us to wait until we were within the planet's solar system before allowing us to make our move, which could take many more days. I don't see why. If we arrive ten seconds or ten weeks from now, the inhabitants would still be taken by surprise. Why not move now?" rhetorically asked the large commander as he walked away from his conversation with the other officer, with his hands held behind his back. His bulky chunks of polished armor reflected brightly from the holographic images.

"But sir, we're not even completely out of the western quadrant yet. If we try to transfer our men now, from so far out into space they…they might not survive."

"A few months ago, yes, that would have indeed been a concern, but now…our strength has increased dramatically since then. And besides, if I lead the charge, there will be nothing to fear," replied the commander, keeping his back turned to his second in command.

"Well, what of Lord Aizel? What will he think of you acting before he says so himself?" the alien asked with a curious expression, given his boss' blatant ideas on the approach.

"Everything happens for a reason, Lieutenant Archon. I believe that Lord Aizel, in his enlightened wisdom, has chosen me to take this mission for this very purpose. A discovery such as this one could prove invaluable to our cause and must be obtained as quickly as possible, and we have been brought here to do just that. Over these many months, my army has gained more experience and drive on the field than any other. And if we are in fact going to engage beings of great power, then what better way to handle the situation then to send our greatest offences as well? How could Lord Aizel possibly disagree with that?"

The lieutenant didn't feel it would be at all proper to answer such a question, thinking it would be both impossible to sway the commander's opinion, and also because he too felt the urge to get his hands dirty in some potential combat. As luck would have it, his superior felt the same way. However, one particular question had to be addressed.

"So, what do we do?" he asked plainly as he stood upright to face the higher-ranked officer.

"First off, stop the ship, and get the troops ready at the main dock for departure and wait there until I arrive. If there are in fact cities there, I'm sure we'll have no trouble using their elements to our advantage. All we have to do is locate the proper locations with the most activity," responded the taller officer. As he said this, he again walked right by the lieutenant, grabbed the report data from him and returned to the hologram. Using his first two fingers and thumb on his gloved hand, he located the desired galaxy and then zoomed in following the coordinates on the paper. Soon, he found the planet they were now preparing to invade. It's mostly water terrain, lush, green land and position by the Sun made it the perfect place to support life, and hopefully a few other things in mind.

The commander was now becoming very excited at the idea of finally being able to test his strengths on the creatures of this newfound planet. For too long, he had to endure the effortless conquering of so many planets like it. Not once had anyone put up much of a fight to stop him and his soldiers. But now, he hoped that would all change. He smiled to himself, thinking of the numerous possibilities while his second bowed and hastily went off to carry out the orders.

"Alright, heathen world," he said as he eyed the close image of the planet, seemingly holding it in both of his massive hands like a child grasping his most precious toy, "Let's see just how much fight you have in you."

* * *

_Back on Earth…_

Once everyone's meals were served, the group spent several quiet minutes consuming the delicious food. Unlike the food at Capsule Corp., there were many different assortments of meats, noodles, vegetables, soups, and rice that could be traced by scent all throughout the eatery.

Caroline and Marron sat at a table directly beside the rest of the group to eat. After a while, Krillin had gone off towards the front of the eatery to talk to Hana, most likely about the upcoming baby. As Marron went off to the restroom, Caroline observed the chatting adults from her seat. After a while, she noticed how Hana would throw back a few locks of hair from her shoulder every time Krillin said something that made her laugh. She seemed very happy, cheerful with whatever life had to offer her.

Suddenly, an oddly close voice snapped her from her train of thought.

"She's a sight, isn't she?" Raditz said, sitting right next to Caroline without her realizing it. He too was watching his wife, but with a much deeper expression of compassion on his face. Caroline, not knowing of his presence until he spoke up, was startled right out of her seat, almost spilling her drink and flipping her food onto the tiled floor. Raditz gave her a look of puzzlement as she propped herself back up with the face of the table, clutching her shirt and panting in fear of just suffering a minor heart attack. Eighteen, Bra and a few close by patrons mirrored the same expression as they starred at the girl.

"Are you alright?" he instantly asked with concern.

"Yeah, just gotta get used to that I suppose," Caroline finally replied after catching her breath.

_"Intentionally sneaking up on people must run in the family,"_ she thought to herself as she sat back into the chair. She couldn't help but remember Bardock doing the same thing to her as of late.

"Sorry about that," Raditz then said innocently. "I didn't mean to catch you off guard. It's just that I thought for sure you would be able to sense my presence by now."

"Yeah well, your dad and I are still going over that. I uh…haven't quite perfected it yet," she lied. She couldn't help but feel a bit awkward sitting right next to a man several times bigger, and hundreds of times stronger than her, casually sitting with her in a crowded food court. Not only that, the last time they talked was probably a time the both of them didn't like remembering, and it was all Caroline's fault. Raditz, however, didn't seem to mind it at all.

"I'm glad that father's finding time to train you. He's one of the best fighters I know," he said as he gulped down his beverage. His calm demeanor drove Caroline to ease up just a tad, but it didn't keep her mouth from blurting out the first though that came to her mind.

"Yeah, but nothing like your brother, huh?" She asked with a light smile. What she said made Raditz choke on a little liquid from his drink. Evidently the mentioning of his brother was still a sensitive topic, something Caroline instantly regretted upon finding out.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just!…(sigh)…" she then sank into her chair in embarrassment. "That didn't come out right."

"It's alright. My father wouldn't take offence to it. He and I are both well aware of how much stronger my little brother is compared to the two of us, " the long-haired Saiyan replied as he finished his sip.

"What? But you both have had decades to get up to speed with him. If Bardock can reach Super Saiyan 3 you should be able to." Caroline retorted, not believing his statement whole-heartedly.

"I can. I've been able to reach that level for a few years now, but as I'm sure you can image, somehow my brother is just a few points higher every time no matter what. Were it not for my father's age, he might've been able to surpass Kakarot when given the chance, but that's out of the question now," said Raditz as he gulped down the final once of liquid left in his can.

"Yeah...Funny how he does that," Caroline agreed as she turned her attention away from him and back to his wife. Raditz also went back to watching her from a distance as she continued her conversation with Krillin, Eighteen evidently joining in when the two spectators weren't looking.

"I know I should have said this sooner, but I want to apologize for the way I behaved when I took you to the tower," he then said after a moment of silence.

"Nah, that was all my bad. I shouldn't have brought any of that up in the first place. At least when you found out you didn't drop me straight out of the sky. Hehe," Caroline chuckled.

"Well, looking back on it, for the longest time I had always wondered what might've become of me that day if things had happened differently. But I guess I always knew it wouldn't end in my favor. Heck, it was probably the outcome I deserved, but now more ever, I'm glad I got the chance I did. I suppose hearing that my worst fears had been realized in another life was what got me spooked the most," Raditz explained as he looked down at his hands resting on the table.

Caroline took a little hesitation before asking her next question, but managed to spurt it out eventually, hoping the man wouldn't take offense.

"Does…does Hana know about that particular part of your past. Like being a planet broker and all before coming to Earth?" was the best she could spit out.

"She knows of my overall allegiance with Frieza and the jist of what being a planet broker was, but I never got any farther with the details. Somehow, none of that really mattered to her. Hana always told me that whatever happened in the past stayed in the past and that she didn't care about what kind of person I used to be. And these past few years, I've learned to follow my brother's example and move on from all of that, and very soon I'll have a family of my own to look after," the Saiyan replied as he glanced to Caroline and then to Hana's. He watched as his wife would gently rub and coddle the bulge on her waist with loving eyes and a gentle smile. Her eyes almost instinctively meet with Raditz and Caroline. She gave a big grin and merrily waved at the two of them.

"She seems super excited about the baby," Caroline added after waving back to her.

"Yes, I'm sure she'll be just as ecstatic as I was once she learns its sex," smiled Raditz as he used a fist to prop his head to the side.

"Wait, you know the gender already? How can you tell?"

"Heh. Power signature usually tells it all. You could say it's a Saiyan thing," smirked Raditz.

"Really? Wow, I didn't know you guys could do that! Congrats, Raditz!…Raditz?"

When Caroline went to look at him, Raditz suddenly seemed to be in another world as he looked forward, far past Hana or anywhere else in the establishment. His eyes were both wide and alert, his lips slightly apart, and eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He remained silent and still for several more minutes. It wasn't long before Eighteen and Krillin had the exact same expression. The three were like statues amongst all of the busy shoppers in the food court. Hana, completely confused, tried to snap them both out of their odd trance, but to no avail.

"You feel that?" Eighteen finally asked her husband, ignoring Hana's questions.

"Yeah," he replied, "And it doesn't feel good."

A few moments prior at Kami's Tower, the sharp sting of an incoming vision painfully interrupted Bardock's exercising within one of the cavernous temples. He clasped his forehead as the images began to pour through, most of them too fast for him to properly recognize. All he could see were some quick instances of faces, fire, and rows of soldiers. However, just as soon as the vision came, it ended. He was left with several minutes to catch his breath.

"What…What was-" It was all that he had time to say before a distinct, ear-buzzing pressure came, one he was more than familiar with. It knew what it meant, but couldn't believe it to be true.

"That's not possible! They can't be here yet! They CAN'T BE!" He quickly darted out of the round building to the far edge of the Lookout to see any traces of unusual activity across the country.

...

With the summer heat slowly creeping into the air, the huge forests that stretched far beyond Satan City's limits were becoming more and more susceptible to catching fire due to a relatively dry spring. Over the past several days, a small patch of wildfire had been fighting off containment from the area's fire and rescue team. Men and women in uniform were scrambling back and forth, using every piece of equipment at their disposal to try to control the blaze.

"Where's that chopper already? We need to get more water on those flames!" yelled one of the volunteers into his small, black walk-e talk-e.

"Keep your shirt on, son. It's on its way. Besides, at the rate we've been going, this fire's gonna be one hundred percent contained in no time," came back the static voice on the other side of the line.

"I'd feel the same way if we had a bit more aerial support. One helicopter Oh wait! I can see it!"

Indeed. The red and white humming rescue chopper, carrying under it a sagging tarp filled with hundreds of gallons of water, hovered slowly over the horizon and made its way to the center of the flames.

However, as soon as it got within a reasonable distance, a brilliant, white light erupted from what appeared to be charred remains of the forest's tree line, and coincidentally where most of the rescue crew was stationed. Each firefighter tried to run and shield their eyes from the light, fearing something had gone horribly wrong. The pilots of the chopper were taken by surprise, causing the craft and its liquid cargo to jerk back abruptly and swing from side to side. Once the light began to dim, the workman one by one squinted their eyes into the distance and soon stood in awe of the uncountable rows of men, some on what appeared to be compact hovercrafts. The rest were on foot, dressed in heavy-set silver armor and white plating that covered the majority of their bodies. An egg-shaped, silver helmet with purple-tinted shield glass, made their individual features completely hidden. Another device each strange visitor possessed on his or her person was a small, metallic wristband containing a dark red stone at the very center. Every soldier stood single file in a total of two wide columns, all silently watching as the terrified rescuers looked on to see two men, one of above average height, walk through the now white, shining blaze to the front of the line.

To say that the taller man's physique was impressive would still prove to be an understatement. Even though he seemed vaguely human, he was roughly around nine feet tall in height, a major difference compared to the beings surrounding him. His skin color was that of a very pale teal, surrounding his large, beady eyes as he surveyed the crowd. A silver headband containing a dark green stone wrapped around is forehead, pointed ears, and long, white hair, which was tied at the back. His broad shoulders, along with his muscular arms and legs, were thickly coated in armor similar to those of the soldiers', hiding a black skin-tight under suit with styled dark blue straps. The most defining feature of his outfit that stood out among the rest was his round, gaudy breastplate. Within it was a smaller silver mold, holding inside of _it_ a large round stone, one that had the exact same color as the ones on each soldier's wrist.

The figure who walked to the right of him was anything but a man. The only thing that he and the tall one had in common was their matching attire. He was of a leaner build, but still had considerable shoulder width, with thin, almost stick-like limbs. A long, spiky tail whipped to and fro with each step his three-toed feet made. His deep maroon scales glimmered in the blaze behind him as he gave one of the most horrific grins each firefighter had ever seen in their lives. If the reptilian features he possessed didn't frighten them, the rows of snow-white teeth would.

One of the head firemen, despite his fears, walked a few steps forward to face the newcomers.

"What's going on here? Wha…what do you want?" he choked as he nervously twisted his hat into a small piece of rope.

The armored reptilian chuckled loudly as the terrified workman shook where he stood.

"That's a very good question, nave," the scaled creature replied. His voice was dry and almost bone-chillingly raspy. He then placed a hand upon the mold containing the large colored stone. It began to glow an intense magenta hue all around it. The lizard's green eyes then looked to the poor human with a crooked smile as he gave his response.

"We want YOU!"

The light from the stone then zigzagged straight in the man's direction. When the beam hit him, he had maybe half of a second to scream before disappearing before everyone's eyes without a trace left of him. As the light retracted itself into the stone from which it came, every human being there began a frantic dash away from the scene, screaming and shrieking all the way.

Before another word was said, the lizard man raised a gloved hand well above his head and immediately after threw it the direction of the earthlings with a raspy cry.

"Alright men, _purge this planet_!"

With that, the soldiers scattered in every direction. Magenta rays of light spouted from every soldier's wrist as each earthling found themselves being absorbed by the blast. More soldiers and hovercrafts poured out from the white door seen in the flaming forest and didn't seem to stop. The two heads of command stood their ground as the troops continued to flow past them. Finally, the tall one spoke.

"Archon, go with a separate party and begin clearing the nearest city of its civilians. I will scout further to see where these 'super beings' are hiding," he ordered, watching his men file throughout the valley.

"Yes, Commander Essepe," bowed the lizard. He then hopped onto a passing hover vehicle carrying several soldiers and flew off into the distance.

The mayhem didn't stop at the forest. All around the world, wherever a large open flame was present, whether it be in the hearth in a family home, a bon fire, or even a simple cooking stove, a blinding light would come from within the blaze, and not far behind it, a river of armored troops emerged, absorbing any human being they came into contact with.

Raditz immediately snapped back into reality as he felt a presence creep up behind him in the food court. He shot up from his seat and spun around to address everyone in earshot.

"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" he screamed to the unsuspecting crowd. Before the people could react, several employees in the nearby pizzeria frantically ran from behind the counter. The reason for their terror was soon realized as the ovens from the visible kitchen soon swelled into a hot mass, instantly erupting into a barrage of hot steel and smoke into the dozens of people.

Raditz darted for Hana and the others while Caroline scooped up Bra from the booth and followed his direction away from the debris. Marron, after feeling the rumbling from the explosion, ran straight from the nearby restroom and into the arms of her mother. As the group tried to make sure they were all together and safe, the mysterious soldiers soon filled the establishment, taking aim with their wrists. As the commotion settled from the destroyed pizzeria, several frightened people, including Raditz, Krillin and the others, stood stock still as many others fled to the farthest corners of the store.

One of the masked officers fresh from the fiery portal walked ahead of the squad and approached a moustached, portly gentleman, one who found himself on the floor of the court, sweating and shaking himself silly.

"You there!" the officer shouted. This made the little man yelp in helplessness and shake even wilder as the officer continued. "What is the name that you call this planet?"

Raditz, trying to look inconspicuous for the time being, watched carefully as the poor fellow tried to answer as best as he could.

"T-t-the p-p-lanet?"

"Yes, heathen. What do you call it? Out with it!" the officer demanded.

"It's...i-it's..."

"Earth." The small man instantly opened his eyes to find that he wasn't the one that finished his own sentence.

"This planet is called Earth, but what does it matter to you?" asked Raditz as he crossed his arms and came a few steps forward in the crowd to make his presence known. Although his long, wild hair and unbelievably toned body practically did the job for him. Deep down, he knew they were going be trouble, and if there were ever the right opportunity to step in, now would be it.

"Raditz?" cried Hana as she attempted to reach for her husbands shoulder, but Eighteen pulled her back as gently as she could.

Each armed hostile immediately turned the direction of their wristbands to the tall Saiyan as the main soldier spoke up again.

"Not that it concerns you, but we would like our leader to know of this planet's name before he calls it as his own." He then turned to the remaining crowd and boomed the inset speakers in his helmet so that everyone in the building could hear. "So, people of 'Earth', let it be known that from this moment on, this planet is now our territory, and every being on this rock will soon be removed from here so it can begin anew in the name of our great master. We ask that you submit willingly to avoid any unneccessary trouble."

"And if we refuse?" coaxed Raditz. In the back of his mind, he already knew the answer.

"That's what I love about this job," said the armored stranger. He and the members of his squad then took aim in every direction in the crowd, including Raditz. "Refusal isn't an option."

Fires from the wristbands soon reflected and shined all throughout the establishment. The beam set for Raditz was easily missed as he quickly shifted away from range, leaving it only to hit a concrete wall. He and the others then ran to look for cover. Others weren't so lucky. Men, women and children left and right were getting caught in the lights and the soldiers persisted on firing until there wasn't a single person left. To help make a quick distraction, Raditz conjured a large yellow ball of energy and threw directly at the squad's center. After the detonation, the brightly-colored beams ceased momentarily as the surviving soldiers scrambled out of harm's way through the smoke.

"That's not going to hold them for long. Krillin, I want for you to take Hana and your family to Roshi's as quickly as possible. Caroline, you take Bra home and, if you can, summon Vegeta for me," Raditz ordered to the group, not turning his attention away from the hostile invaders.

"And what about you?" Krillin asked. His voice became heightened by the sudden commotion.

"I'm staying here to deal with these guys. Now go and get to safety! I'll get out of here as soon as I can," he barked. With that he gave a steady, load roar. Following it was a golden aura that consumed his body until his Super Saiyan transformation was complete. He then darted into the biggest mob of soldiers he could find and began his assault. He wasn't sure who they were, but after that performance, he wouldn't dare let them get within spitting distance of his friends. Krillin and the others stood still for a moment in awe of Raditz's charge before the retired Z-Fighter again spoke up.

"Well, you heard him, guys! Let's boot!" Krillin immediately took his daughter in his arms, leaving Eighteen to take Hana. The couple then sprinted for the nearest exit, with Caroline and Bra not far behind.

When all six exited the court and flew far away from the danger, they all stopped for a moment, watching the shopping mall slowly be engulfed with smoke in the distance.

"Dad, I'm scared!" fretted Marron as he tightly grabbed onto her father.

"What the heck just happened? Who were those guys?" gasped Caroline as she tried to keep Bra as close to her as possible.

"I dunno," replied Krillin, who sounded just as puzzled as everyone else. "All I know is that they definitely weren't on our side. Caroline, you do what Raditz said and head back to Capsule Corp. to get Trunks and Vegeta. Hana will be coming with us."

Hana didn't say a word. All she did was give a nod of approval to Krillin before looking back at the large, smoking building.

"Alright, we're off. Be careful, okay!" was all Krillin had left to say before he, and the three girls flew into the distance. Caroline immediately nodded and flew straight for the Capsule Corporation building.

...

"This…this isn't good," stammered Bardock. Sweat began to appear around his tanned, bandana bound forehead as he knelt at the very edge of the tower's flat walkway, peering over as he watched the world be thrown in a complete fray. The numerous, hostile strangers, just within the few short minutes of arriving there, were now invading almost every cultivated area on Earth.

"There seems to be a little bit of them everywhere. I don't know how, but they seem to have enabled multiple portals all across the land, and they keep popping up too," worriedly assessed Mr. Popo as both he and Dende came out to the platform to see what was going on.

"You don't think these guys are the ones Master Roshi was talking about, do you, Bardock?" asked the Namekian.

"Who else could it be? But it just doesn't make any sense! Shenron said that we had exactly two months to prepare before those mages showed, so why? Why the hell would they come this early?" the frustrated Saiyan asked himself as he walked down the edge of the platform.

"I don't know. Perhaps Shenron somehow miscalculated, or maybe the mages changed their original course of action. Shenron can only give the details of things happening in current times, so over these past few weeks, they might've—"

"None of that matters now!" interrupted Bardock. "The thing we have to focus on now is that whether we like it or not, the mages are here and have to be stopped!"

He then stood erect, fists clenched and looking deep into the blue haze below. Even from such a great distance at the tower, Bardock could see the people of Earth, scores of them running in all directions to escape getting caught in the thin streaks of absorbing light, most of them failing to do so. He knew not what became of them afterwards, but he was sure as hell, that with every fiber of his being he'd make sure they'd all be avenged.

...

Back at the Brief's residence, Vegeta leaned against the wall of the battered Gravity Room with booth arms crossed, concentrating on the new traces of foreign energy.

"So, they've decided to show up early," he assumed as he lifted his eyes to the room's circular ceiling. A corner of his mouth lifted to give himself a confident grin.

"Fantastic."

* * *

**'Sup, guys! Long time, no fanfic! Sorry for the delay, but this story is far from being dead. Things have been a little crazed as of late...**

**Anyway, if you'd like to see the poster for this chapter(s), use the URL provided: art/Tale-of-Ages-Poster-First-Wave-323429352**


	14. Chapter 14: First Wave Part 1

Chapter 14: First Wave (Part 1)

* * *

"No! No, no, NO! This is terrible!" King Kai shrieked as his antennae danced above him, channeling the grim information about planet Earth's new invasion.

"They—came two weeks early! How is that possible? Errrr!" fretted the master as he paced and waved his arms in the air. It was all he could really do at this point. Whether anybody liked it or not, the Shadow Mages had indeed arrived, and weren't leaving anytime soon.

...

As soon as Bra and Caroline entered the Capsule Corporation building, Caroline instinctively went to the main living room.

"Vegeta! Vegeta, something's happening in the city! Raditz needs—" she began, only to stop herself after finding that all members of the Briefs were present, most watching the very discouraging news presented on the large, flat screen T.V. that hung to the very end of the room. Bra immediately climbed down from Caroline's grasp and ran to her mother, who had her portable laptop with her as she looked up and typing what appeared to be random calculations, ignoring the commotion going on in plasma screen.

The images presented on the television were terrifying to say the least. The female reporter, with a very distressed tone and a shaky cameraman, tried to give her audience as much information as she could about the mysterious invaders.

"No one knows exactly where these masked armies are coming from, but they have quickly made their ways into our homes, and cities all across the globe," she said as she and her crew tried to keep themselves from the view of the soldiers, which were only a few yards away from them amongst Satan City's buildings. "We ask for everyone to stay indoors for their own safety until we can—Aaahh!" A quick light then dashed across the screen and the spinning motion of the camera as it fell to the ground, leaving viewers at home to watch the horrors being unfolded at a sideways glance.

Vegeta thought that he had seen enough and turned the television off for the time being.

"I…I just saw guys like them at the mall. You mean to tell me that they're not just in the city but, like, _everywhere_? Wait a minute. Is it happening already? Are the mages here?" Caroline asked to anybody in the room who would be willing to answer.

"That's what my dad thinks," Trunks responded back.

"I've never seen anything like this before!" Bulma exclaimed as she analyzed the dozens of data reports on her computer screen. "They just keep popping up at all corners of the world without warning. The only patterns I'm finding is that most of their entry points are in areas with very high concentrations of heat, like volcanoes, wild fires, and things of that sort. But then some of them just show up randomly everywhere else! Its seems all anyone can do now is pray they don't show up out of the blue inside their own house the way things are going."

"What's happening to all of the civilians? I haven't witnessed something like this happen since Majin Buu's rampage," Trunks asked, looking over his mother's shoulder to get a good look at the data himself.

"Please! From what I'm sensing, these mages are dust mites compared to Buu. If this is all they've got, I'd like to meet the one who thinks they have the spine to take over this planet in the first place. Even the fact that Bardock probably never saw a second of this coming doesn't surprise me! I'm telling you, that guy's about as psychic as I am incompetent," remarked Vegeta confidently.

_Well with that comparison, I just might have a decent reputation on my hands, _came Bardock's voice, almost as if it was echoing throughout the whole room. Everyone lifted his or her heads to find what they thought was the source. Vegeta just jerked his head to the side as he screamed inward curses.

_And here I was about to give you the location of the enemy's strongest power signature. But since you clearly don't require my help, maybe I should just go check it out for myself and leave you to—_

"Oh for Kami's sake! Just get on with it already!" shouted Vegeta, seemingly on his last nerve.

_If you insist, your highness_, the disembodied voice sarcastically replied. _Okay, I think I've found the leader. He's directly west from Satan City, just a few miles away from the wilderness, but he's heading right towards you. I'm sure most of you can already sense his presence by now. Vegeta, you and I will make sure he doesn't reach the city. I have a feeling that if we take this guy out, his army will go right along with him. Raditz has opted to stay within the metropolis to get as many people to safety as he can. Goten is making sure that Chi Chi, Videl and the others are safe at Mount Poazu, and Tienshinhan and Yamcha are doing what they can._

"What about Gohan and Piccolo? There hasn't been any trouble on Namek, has there?" Trunks then asked.

_No. None that I can sense. Although I'm sure that—well what do you know!_

"I was wondering which one of you would decide to come back," the elder Saiyan responded upon his grandson's arrival at the Lookout.

"Sorry about the delay," Gohan replied. "One of us had to stay behind just in case. I guess Piccolo wanted to see how much progress I've made these past few weeks." Bardock could already tell that his grandson had gotten the benefits out of his training. He looked to be in much better physical condition then the last time the two saw each other. And after abandoning his formal suits and once again dawning his old gi and apparel, he looked like he was ready for action once again after all these years.

_Bardock? You okay?_ echoed Trunks' voice.

_Yeah, Gohan just arrived. It's time we got a move on. Trunks, I want you and Caroline to head in Raditz's direction and help evacuate the citizens before the whole place becomes a ghost town. I'll keep in touch as often as I can. Good luck, everyone… _

With that, the connection with the group was severed.

"W-wha?" gasped Caroline at her newfound responsibility.

"Well, McBride, you heard him. Suit up," Vegeta then ordered before departing himself. The only noise Caroline made to respond was a deep, nervous gulp in her throat.

…

Caroline went to her bedroom to ditch her weights and put on her Saiyan attire as quickly as possible, all while trying to arm herself in all the confidence she thought she could muster.

"_Okay, this is it. It's time to see if all of my training has finally paid off or not. I can do this,_ " she told herself as she lastly fitted into her boots and gloves. Once everything was on, she briefly studied herself in the mirror by her dresser as she fastened her bright blonde hair into a ponytail. Her freshly toned muscles were now beginning to show from her skin-tight suit, and after all those long weeks of pain and hard training, her feeling of determination was starting to produce a bit of a scowl on her face, a look she had never noticed before. Deep down, she wondered if she would look this well put together the next time she ever looked at her reflection.

"_The sensu beans!"_ was the first thought that then came to her mind. Something told her that those nasty little seeds would to be a lifesaver if things got bad during a battle, and bringing the few that remained in Bardock's sack didn't sound like such a bad idea. She grabbed some from the little brown bag and ran off to meet with Trunks.

_Several miles outside of Satan City…_

Commander Essepe stopped his trek from the vast forest for a moment to look onto the nearby mass of grey and white columns of the metropolis, marveling at its impressive size from the edge of a grassy plateau. He quickly noticed several lines of smoke coming from the depths of the buildings. Even with so many pounds of armor bound to his body, his long walk with them on seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever. Regardless, he had other things on his mind.

"It seems that my lieutenant has already seized the area. Strange, and here I thought I'd actually run into a challenge on this planet," he assessed with a look of disappointment, but he then simply smiled to himself with pride. "Ah well. At least it contains some decent ground. Once that city is finished, it will make the perfect place for my new palace."

"Too bad that'll never happen!" came a distant voice from behind. Without warning, a large blue blast hit the back of the tall officer, immediately engulfing him in a plume of smoke.

As the commander emerged to face to source of the energy, he looked relatively unfazed by the explosion. His eyes then caught three male figures floating high above him, all with wild, dark hair and odd, colorful clothes. None of them looked at all happy to see him, but he was absolutely ecstatic to see the three of them.

"Well I'll be damned! There's a few of you here after all," grinned the large stranger as he brushed small rocks and dirt from his uniform. As he did this, the three warriors hovered themselves down to the ground, finding their opponent to be much larger than they had suspected. Bardock was the first to speak in the trio.

"Are you the one responsible for bringing these soldiers here?" he demanded.

"I am. And from what my second in command has told me, you must be this planet's strongest inhabitants. I must admit, I thought you all would look a bit more…intimidating," Essepe answered as he curiously looked each man from head to toe. Only one of them was wearing battle armor. The one to his right was shorter and of a leaner build with nothing on but a thin jumpsuit, while the one to his left wore a loose-fitting orange uniform.

"You'll be better off not to judge us by our appearances," spoke Bardock again, "And if you're looking for a fight, then you've defiantly come to the right place to have it. You and your goons have made the dreadful mistake of treading on our home world and attacking our people. Well I've got news for you! You're looking at just a fraction of this planet's most powerful defenders who have dedicated their lives to putting a stop to the scum like you who think they can—"

"Oh cut the heroic crap, Bardock! We're burning daylight," Vegeta interrupted as he impatiently turned back to the army's leader. "Bottom line, who are you and what the hell do you want with our planet?"

"My, how straightforward! I'm not used to natives being so frank with me," admired the commander as he crossed his arms, intrigued by the shorter Saiyan's...interesting personality.

"Let's just say you're not the first person whose tried to pull this off," remarked Vegeta.

…

A pair of soldiers fell to the ground as Trunks gave them both a hard punch to the gut. He then darted at quick speeds to an even larger group trying to hold their ground in one of the now empty streets of Satan City. In less than a minute, all of the soldiers collapsed after receiving their injuries, and much to Trunks' surprise, quickly evaporated into a magenta-colored mist, then into nothing. It had been like this since Trunks had arrived, and every soldier that he had come into contact with quickly met the same fate without hardly any trouble at all. Caroline wasn't doing too bad herself as he performed some of her moves on a small group, dodging all of the beams that were fired at her, and then punching and kicking them into nonexistence. As far as she was concerned, things were going incredibly well.

"You know, when first coming into this, I thought we were really gonna have our hands full with these guys. But after seeing them in action, I'm starting to think we may be fighting the wrong army," she said as she high kicked a soldier into a group of his own party, causing them all to fall back into a large store window. She went on to take down a few others on the ground while Trunks handled things from above, destroying several hovercrafts in the process.

"I know. It's odd. All they have to defend themselves with are those weapons on their wrists, but give 'em a few hard strikes they're gone," observed Trunks and he set fire to yet another hovercraft carrying a few soldiers. " I think the only _real_ problem here is that there are so many of them to deal with."

Caroline quickly blasted a soldier away with one white-hot ki ball before replying. "Well, at least they make the cleanup easy for us. What do you think those laser-thingys do to you if you're hit by one?" she then asked as she looked around for any more soldiers, which that particular street seemed to be completely cleared out of.

"I'd rather not find out. Just avoid them as best as you can for now," her partner warned as he landed next to her, also looking to see if there were any more trouble to investigate.

Caroline smiled at the idea. "Shouldn't be a problem. Heck, at my speeds those things haven't had a chance at—GRAH!" Ironically enough, a large magenta beam of light came out of nowhere and struck her directly in the chest, knocking her several feet away in an instant.

"Caroline!" Trunks cried as he rushed to her aid. She lied motionless but looked uninjured otherwise. As he turned her over on her back, her eyes were wide and spinning as if she just took a hard hit to the head.

"Are you okay?" asked Trunks as he pulled her up on her feet. After shaking her head a few times, Caroline quickly came back to her senses.

"I think so. That felt really weird, actually…" she trailed off as he placed a hand on her forehead, trying to repress a dull headache.

"Well, well, well…" came a voice that didn't sound at all human. When both young heroes looked above the building closest to them, they found a creature that wore maroon scales for skin with very long, stick-like arms and legs, all heavily coated with armor. In the center of his chest was a large stone, glowing with the color of the beam that hit Caroline. He looked down at the two earth dwellers with a sinister, toothy grin.

"You both look like you could give a me bit of hard time. That's perfect!" the lizard man exclaimed.

Trunks stood in front of Caroline to face the monster directly from the pavement below.

"Who are _you_?"

"Name's Archon, first lieutenant under my commander, who's become very interested in adopting this watery little sphere of yours," the lizard explained as his tail swung back and forth behind him like the weights of a grandfather clock.

"And who would be your commander?"

…

"I am Essepe, one of the four heads of the Great Shadow Army, specifically asked to handle the harvesting of all intelligent life on this planet," the burly officer answered to the three Saiyans before him.

"Does that make you one of the Shadow Mages then?" the eldest fighter then asked. Essepe's eyes widened by the question, but answered it plainly. "Why yes. How is it that you know me?"

Bardock's body tensed as he pointed to the commander, "We've been waiting for you for a while now, actually! We know of all of the damage you've caused to the galaxies surrounding ours, and we've all trained relentlessly so that when you finally showed up, we'd be able to keep you from destroying our planet!"

What Bardock said made Essepe give a look of confusion.

"Destroy it? Oh, my good sir, wherever you received your information, you clearly misunderstood my intentions. I am not here to lay waste to such a beautiful planet, rather I intend to save it!"

"Save it from what?" Gohan then asked.

Essepe then glanced at the young man with furrowed brows, making sure that his point was made as clear as possible. "From the very people that live on it."

…

"What makes you think that you can just abduct innocent people against their will like that?" Trunks demanded to the scaled alien above him.

"Yeah well, I'm sure that you meat sacks would disagree with me on this, but let's face it," the alien began casually as he crawled his way down the concrete two-story building, "I'd hardly call all of you 'innocent.' Who's to say you people really deserve to live on such a fruitful planet? I mean take this city, for example. All it really does is pollute the air and generate way too much waste for you people to handle, and yet you have dozens of them placed all around that continue to grow. You destroy your own recourses thinking it all for the better, when in reality you're just making things worse for yourselves. And the terrible part is, because of your own selfish needs, you refuse to turn away from it and look for a more harmless alternative. Eventually, you'll end up sucking this whole place dry. Think of our being here as just doing your planet a favor by getting rid of the unnecessary consumers: _you_." He then said as he pointed to both Caroline and Trunks.

"And you think you guys could do a better job?" Caroline asked suspiciously.

"Oh, yes!" responded the bipedal reptile. "Our philosophy is to stray away from excessive technology. Unlike most races we've come across, we've learned to properly respect the planets that we live on. Once we absorb everyone on _this_ planet, we'll tear down every concrete eyesore here and replace it with some of the finest buildings this universe has to offer."

"And what exactly are you doing to these 'consumers?' What happens when they get caught in one of those beams your soldiers keep using?" Trunks then asked, looking at the round stone in the creature's silver breastplate.

"Oh, it doesn't do much to them, well, except break every molecule of their body into storable energy! It's completely painless, but once you get caught, you're gone for good," sneered the tall lizard. Trunks and Caroline gasped in horror at the idea that so many people had already fallen victim to such demise.

"You see," Archon went on to say as he placed his hand on the molding that held the dark gem, "These crystals my men and I have hold very strong absorbing capabilities. They can only be found at the farthest corners of the universe. But thanks to our magic, we've made it so each rock we possess can be intertwined with each other, transferring all the energy we collect to the head officer until all of it is harvested. And after that, the officer takes it to the main source back at our headquarters."

"If that's true, then why didn't I get absorbed when the beam hit _me_?" pondered Caroline as she lightly rubbed her armored chest where she was struck.

"That's the fun part," Archon replied with a wide grin.

"The crystals are indeed powerful, but their strength varies upon their size. A stone any bigger than the one on my person would be too heavy to travel with, but they have no trouble collecting beings with average amounts of power," Essepe went on to explain, "However, there's always that rare event when we encounter beings much like yourselves that are so powerful, it makes you almost immune to the absorption. So, it's my job to manually… _reduce_ your strength until you are weak enough to be absorbed. In other words…"

"We _beat_ you into submission," eagerly proclaimed Archon as he stepped closer to the pair of young fighters.

"Well that just sounds lovely," Caroline said to herself, displeased.

"Doesn't it, though," agreed Archon, "You'd be surprised how little I actually get involved in missions like this. No one ever has the capabilities or the balls to try to fight against me, but you two…if there are any more insects like _you_ running around, I feel I'm going to have quite a lot of fun taking over this planet."

"So you handle the grit of the mission, while your soldiers just handle the routine work, but what happens to them if—"

"If they get their asses killed? Oh, I wouldn't worry about them. They sold their bodies to our cause a long time ago. Even if they get destroyed, their mind and bodies' energy are instantly transferred to their superior's crystal. A noble sacrifice in the effort to release our master from his prison. But what do you say we scrap introductions and get things going already?" the armored monster suggested as he crouched into a fighting stance. "I'm curious to see just how long it will take before I'll be able to absorb you."

"If that's what you want, then fine. But we're going to make sure you don't terrorize any more people!" Trunks promised as he and Caroline prepped for battle as well.

"We'll just have to see about that, now won't we?" was all the lizard man had left to say before he charged at the two with a high-pitch roar, lunging his large fist in their direction. He was but a few seconds too late and the young fighters quickly darted out of harm's way and left his hand several inches in the grey asphalt.

...

"When I proved my allegiance to my master long ago, not only did he give me the powers necessary for carrying out my missions, but I have also been promised that once this universe is cleared of you sinful filth, I and my fellow Commanders will be given one of the four universal quadrants of our choosing to rule over in our soon-to-be reformed cosmos. And with this being the most promising planet I've discovered so far, I think I might just pick the northern quadrant as my new domain, and make this world my main capital," Essepe said as he looked to the mountainous forests in the distance.

"So there's four of you…Any chance we'll be seeing the other three soon?" Bardock then asked.

"I should think not. We've found that conquering worlds separately covers much more ground in a shorter amount of time. All three are still preparing their assault on what remains of this quadrant light years away from here. And besides, when I'm through with you, they'll be no reason for them to show," the large soldier stated as the positioned himself with his knees bent and his fists lifted slightly to his side.

"Unlike the others, I have studied many different forms of hand to hand combat, and no one has yet surpassed me. The way I see it, you three will be merely a small stumbling block in my path to enlightened glory."

"Oh I've heard _enough_ of this nonsense!" Vegeta screamed has he clenched his fists, "You've definitely got the mouth of a warrior, but let's see if you've got the muscle to back it up!" As he gave a loud shout, his hair then turned golden and glowing as he quickly went through the Super Saiyan transformation. After it was complete, he then leapt high into the air, only to come straight down with a foot headed straight for Essepe's jaw.

"Brace yourself, Lancelot!" Vegeta teased as he closed in. Without even a wince, the teal-skinned figure was knocked backward from the blow, but quickly regained his balance as Vegeta continued his barrage of punches and kicks. Bardock and Gohan transformed also and headed straight into the fight, weaving their way through each other's attacks as the commander dodged past each one of them. The three Saiyans then charged their hands full of energy, preparing their signature attacks and quickly fired upon their target.

"Final Flash!"

"Spirit Cannon!"

"Masenko!"

After each blast landed at the desired mark, the large commander was once again hidden from view in the smoke.

"How's _that_ for a stumbling block?" Vegeta called down to the unseen assailant. After a few short seconds the man emerged, his expression unaffected by the recent beating. His outfit was a different story. The once glittering armor was now covered in burn marks and tarnished, a look that accompanied the rest of Essepe's clothes. When his eyes met with that of the Saiyans', he quickly recognized the differences in two of the fighter's hair and eye color, not to mention the bright yellow auras that were surrounding each of them. The youngest one seemed to have not changed at all, but his aura was just as brilliant as the others. Essepe's look of seriousness then turned to astonishment of their hidden power. The whole spectacle could only make him smile.

"So this is what Lieutenant Archon was referring to all this time," his deep voice bellowed to himself, "Well, this is going to be a real treat."

"I'll show you a treat!" Vegeta snapped back. With that, he, Bardock and Gohan flew once again in the commander's direction, for yet another violent round.

Trunks and Caroline targeted as many openings and weak points as they could, but the reptile's flexibility it difficult. Even their ki blasts didn't stop the creature from continuing his retaliation on the two of them, but they _were_ beginning to tear up his styled garments. The only thing about him that remained completely unchanged was that unsightly grin on his face.

"Come on now! I this _really_ all you bone bags have in you? Other natives that fight like you would've been absorbed a long time ago!" he mocked as he diverted a few upward strikes to his face and chest. Caroline tried to come up from behind and catch him off guard, but with one swipe of a spiked tail, she was sent flying onto the sidewalk of the intersection. Trunks continued fighting at a fast pace, landing a few punches, but not enough to slow the creature down. The lieutenant started to get bored, slapped Trunks away with a quick kick and then crawled to the top of a traffic light. He hung there for a moment, swinging between the bars like a chimpanzee at the zoo.

"I have to say, I'm disappointed in the two of you. Either my crystal is defective, or you're not giving me all you've got!" he growled.

"He's starting to sound like your dad."

"Not now, Caroline," rebuked Trunks as he kept his eyes carefully on the enemy as he began to chuckle to himself.

"Well, if this is all I'm going to get at this pace, then let's up the ante a bit," grinned the lizard man as he looked through the streets. Eventually, he came across a small cluster of frightened humans and animal people huddling together in a nearby ally. Somehow, they managed to avoid being captured from the previous fleet. This gave the lieutenant an idea.

"You, with the interesting shade of violet," he then said as he pointed to the Saiyan hybrid, "Remember what you said about making sure I wouldn't catch any more people? Well, what would you say about that handful of meat over there?" Trunks followed the direction of the lieutenant's, leading straight to the survivors. His eyes widened in fear of their safety, but knew that they were too far away to get to if he tried to run. He looked back to the lieutenant after a magenta hue caught his peripheral vision as the crystal began to glow again.

"You wouldn't…" Trunks began.

"I would," replied Archon. His beam then darted straight for the group. Right before it touched a single soul, a flash of gold came in the way of the beam, and with a thrust of an arm, it went spiraling in the opposite direction.

Trunks stood before the relieved survivors, his hair was now pointed upward in multiple spikes in a shade of bright yellow. His eyes had changed from a sky blue to a dark green, with his arm still extended in the direction he sent the beam. He then turned slowly to face the lieutenant with an intense anger in his eyes.

"What's this?! Now _that's_ what I'm talking about!" applauded Archon, as he studied the Super Saiyan.

"You're going to pay for that," Trunks finally said, "You're going to pay for all of the trouble you've caused these people. Caroline! Get ready!" he called to the girl. Caroline, knowing exactly what he meant, nodded her head and then reverted back to her original stance. All Archon could do was continue to laugh at the two of them.

"Oh my! Whatever do you have in store for me next? Another hair color? Perhaps a costume change? I'm sooo looking forward to—**BAM!**" A fist to the face broke off whatever ending to that sentence Archon had as he flew several feet sideways from the pole. Before he could land, Trunks immediately grabbed him by the tale and jerked the armored lizard in a fast circle, just like that of a bad carnival ride. Then, with one powerful swing, he threw the alien directly into the air, leaving him to get a hard kick to his lower spine by Caroline. As his sharp green eyes spun from the sudden shock, he thought he was seeing double of the two fighters as both flew right on top of him, gathering as much energy as they could. They both immediately fired at Archon, giving the loudest cry he had ever heard from their mouths.

"HAAAAAAA!"

…

Gohan's Kamehameha Wave pushed the armored mage directly off the edge of the plateau. As he fell, Bardock flew down past him and kneed him straight at the center of his broad back, causing Essepe to gasp in pain. The Saiyan then joined both of his fists together and wailed them upon the commander's chest as hard as he could, resuming his fall to the earth. However, Essepe quickly spun himself around so that his feet would land first. When he finally collided with the dirt, his weight made a small, rocky crater below him from impact. It wasn't long before Vegeta got his turn. He spawned a volley of energy blast that quickly overwhelmed his target as he released them. In an effort to escape any more damage, the mage darted far away from the assault as fast as his bulky legs could manage.

A few scrapes and bruises covered the open areas of his body, while his armor and clothes were becoming chipped and torn. He breathed heavily as he looked on to watch his three glowing opponents study him from above.

"Hm. It seems that I am outclassed in this state. How unfortunate," he told himself, not with frustration, but as a simple observation. He had been holding his own as best he could without ever leaving the ground, unlike Bardock and the others, who had been leading their assault mostly from the air.

"You're damned right it's unfortunate," came Vegeta from above. "Unfortunate that I actually got my hopes up in getting a decent fight from you! Those Kais obviously aren't giving us the amount of credit we deserve after all that dramatic whining they were giving us earlier."

"I meant how unfortunate for _you_," corrected the commander as he arose to his feet. "It seems that I will have to resort to more extreme measures in order for this battle to be put to rest. You should actually feel quite honored for this. I have never once taken off my armor to defeat an adversary before."

"You thinking what I'm thinking, Grandpa?" Gohan asked as he turned to Bardock.

His grandfather looked first to his grandson, then to the mage. "Definitely. That armor's not just for show, it has an entirely different purpose to him."

"You are correct," Essepe interjected as he placed both of his hands onto the jewel-incrusted mold._ "_This armor does more than simply dazzle my enemies. You see, my mortal body cannot handle the might of my gifts all on its own. This armor was crafted specifically so I could keep my powers in check, and I must have these on my possession at all times. If not, it could mean terrible trouble to this planet. But for this particular situation, I feel I can make an exception."

"Well what are you waiting for? Like you said, you wanted to get this battle over with, didn't you? Well, so do the rest of us! You probably don't know who you're talking to here, but I'll give you the most important detail. I am Vegeta, prince of the Saiyan race, one of the proudest warrior races in the entire universe! The ones here with me have Saiyan blood in them as well and have seen their fair share of battles. So, I'm sure whatever you're hiding underneath all that metal will pose no problem to us," Vegeta confidently assured his foe, with a smirk he couldn't help but keep on his face.

Essepe then grinned from ear to ear. "A warrior race, eh? Well, it seems the more I hear, the more thankful I am for being the one to take this planet! Once I have you all absorbed, I'm sure to be rewarded handsomely by my master once he is free!"

He then took hold of the molding and twisted it three quarters clockwise. With each click, the large bolts that held his metal plating together fell, piece by piece, until nothing of it was left on his shoulders and arms, revealing defined, large muscles under his strapped body suit. All that remained of his breastplate was the circular mold containing the large crystal, seemingly glued to his wide chest. As his armor fell, all three fighters quickly felt the rise in energy. It was dark, and it was raging as each second went on.

The atmosphere around Essepe's body began to ripple and dance. A wind picked up all around him as the grass below his feet soon became singed in an instant.

"Behold, my true power! I may not possess the ability of flight as you and your comrades do", he then squatted, as if he was about to jump, "But I have my _own way_ of getting airborne!"

Gargantuan red, magenta, and orange flames ignited all around his body, bringing up more and more smoke and dirt from below him. Like a space shuttle being sent off into the last frontier, the mage skyrocketed straight in the direction of the trio at incredible speed. He first targeted the prince as he delivered to him a sharp head butt followed by a powerful roundhouse kick, briefly sending Vegeta spiraling. Eseppe then threw down to the royal a wave of fire, which pummeled him into the ground. Bardock then spun mid air, colliding a foot with his left cheek, but it had no effect. Instead, Essepe tightly grasped Bardock's leg with both of his massive hands and threw him straight into the dirt below. The aged fighter quickly tried to get up, until two large, armor-plated boots landed right onto his abdomen, crushing a few ribs in the process.

"Graaa-AAAHH!" he roared as Essepe continued to add large amounts of weight to his injuries.

"Grandfather!" Gohan yelled as he rushed over to the brawl. Essepe saw the orange hero coming and quickly shifted his body to the side to avoid an incoming fist. Before Gohan had any time to react, his still extended arm was then held by the massive clutches of the mage, keeping it still long enough for a kneecap to jolt up to the joint and break it instantly. As Gohan yelled in pain, the mage then threw the broken limb, along with the rest of Gohan, straight in the air above. He then used a free hand to fire the multicolored flames directly at the freefalling half-Saiyan. Once the flames reached him, it propelled his body another dozen or so yards before the fires disappeared. The giant took a moment to watch as Gohan fell onto the cold, grassy dirt nearby with a hard thud.

"What…the hell…was that?" wearily stammered Vegeta as his pushed himself up after briefly laying on his stomach. His outfit and the area around him were charred and smoking with the ground bearing streaks of black and brown were small amounts of vegetation used to be. Essepe noticed the prince, and as he walked over to him, he placed his hands on his hips with a look of indefinite confidence.

"Impressed? There's a reason that our master picked only four out of this universe to become Shadow Mages. If you'll notice most inhabitable planets, you'll come to find that in order for life to be created and sustained they must harbor the four most crucial elements of nature." He then counted with his fingers as he continued speaking, "And those four elements are air, heat, water and earth. Each Mage is given the gift of mastering one of those four elements to act as symbols on their behalf. So, after briefly showing you my gift, can you guess which _I_ have been chosen to symbolize?"

"Conceit?" guessed Vegeta, The response he got was getting his upper body dug an extra foot into the ground as Essepe's boot landed right on his neck. As he attempted to push the weight off of him, a few choked grunts were all that could escape Vegeta's mouth as Essepe blocked his only way of getting any oxygen.

"If you are indeed a prince, than I'm sure that for most of your life you have grown accustomed to be waited on hand and foot, loved and hailed by your subordinates no matter the cost for them. You think that because you come from royalty all are automatically under you and should obey every order you give them. Well, your titles do not matter to me, for I act under an even higher authority, one with the power to change all of creation! And soon, he will remake it the way it was meant to be! One not stained with the likes of you! You are nothing but a self-entitled spec of flesh that has gotten your ego too deeply embeded into your head, and you will be dealt with the same way as all the rest," mused Essepe, looking down at the gasping Vegeta, until a flash caught his eye. However, it was much too late.

"Riot Javelin!"

Another intense blue wave of energy came to the right side of the commander and knocked his massive body off of Vegeta and straight into the pine and coniferous trees in the nearby forest. Large puffs of smoke could be seen at the very end of the wave's path made up of fallen, shattered tree trunks and mounds of dirt.

Bardock slowly walked his way to his fallen friend. A hand was placed hard upon his chest, almost as if to keep Vegeta from seeing the pieces of armor that were now missing from it. Before he could assist, Vegeta sprang to his feet, spitting to the ground and furiously looking into the blaze.

"How _dare_ that bastard talk such tripe about my lineage! If anyone here is the self-entitled spec of flesh, it's _that_ dead man!"

"He might know how to handle the element of fire, but he obviously hasn't mastered the element of surprise. You all right, Gohan?" asked Bardock as his grandson flew down to the pair, still holding his arm.

"I'll be alright," he assured. "Just have to be a little quicker with this guy, I guess."

"He's faster and considerably stronger without that armor on, but it seems that he can't sense energy. Vegeta, you want to end all of this now and go Super Saiyan Three?" Bardock asked, looking to the wreckage.

"If it means me not having to listen to any more of his self-righteous gabble, I'm all for it. But I want to make sure he gets the proper punishment for disrespecting my title, and I've got a few good ideas in mind," smirked Vegeta.

"By all means, do your worst!" boomed the mage's voice through the smoldering brush. His large silhouette could be seen slowly making his way down the battle-scarred path Bardock's attack had created. His body suit was beginning to burn away, exposing his teal shoulders and limbs, but his grin and jeweled molding were ever present.

"It matters not how much strength you unleash on me! As long as my army remains here to gather energy from your people, I will continue to get stronger! All that you 'warriors' have accomplished so far in this battle is turning this valley into a burnt wasteland, and in doing so providing _me_ more of an advantage!"

"How's that?" Gohan asked almost as a shout, while Essepe stepped his way into plain view in front of the tree line.

"Is it not obvious? I have mastery over the flames! Not only can I conjure and manipulate them…but I can also _strengthen_ those around me!" He then raised his forearms slowly from his sides, his hands unfolded. As he did, growing bodies of fire soon ate up the smoking remains of the small patch of wilderness, until they all merged into an enormous wall of searing heat. The wall then twisted and swirled around Essepe's body, making it seem as if he were within the eye of a brilliant, red hurricane.

"Now Saiyans, prepare yourselves for the fires of my judgment."

…

"I don't understand any of this!" breathed Archon as he pushed away a large chunk of concrete off of his now battered body. He lost track of just how many buildings he had been thrown into, and every time he tried to enact his revenge, he would quickly be stopped by the two blonde "meat sacks" whom he had been trying to subdue.

"This…this is _impossible_! You two are just children! How is it that two brats can overpower me?! _Me!_ The first lieutenant of the Shadow Army!" he shrieked in frustration as he looked up to find both Trunks and Caroline staring back down at him as they hovered silently in the air.

"What…just what exactly _are_ you?" Archon gasped.

"We're Earthlings! And we're tired of playing games with you!" Trunks answered with a raised fist. "You should just do yourself a favor and get out of here while you still have the chance!" Trunks would've said more, but Archon's raspy laughter cut through the air like a knife.

"Run away?! Oh, I don't think so! You think this is all I have to offer you? Well then, let's if you're this smug after I do _this_!" The lizard then placed his two-fingered hand onto his mold and twisted it to his left. As he turned it, bolts and all of his armor, except for the stone, fell hard onto the ground. Archon then chuckled loudly as he took a minute to stretch his liberated shoulders.

"I don't get it. All he did was pop his armor off," Caroline commented after observing the spectacle. Trunks, rather than looking confused, instantly became nervous.

"Caroline, get down," he said as calmly as he could. However, Caroline didn't budge.

"Why? Nothing's different about him. Usually when someone pulls a stunt like that they grow a few sizes, or they transform, or they just-why is he pointing at us?"

"GET DOWN!"

As Trunks pushed himself and Caroline out of the way, a thick bolt of white light dashed straight for where they were once positioned. Since the bolt missed its targets, it instead hit the side of a nearby sky scraper, shattering its windows and breaking its side wall apart. As the building began to collapse on itself, Archon smiled as he blew the smoke off his gloved fingers while his opponents recovered.

"Was that…was that _lightning_?!" sputtered Caroline as she looked on to the breaking tower, while Trunks returned his attention to Archon.

"Damn straight it was lightning! While my commander was given the ability to work with fire and heat, _I_ was allowed to use the next best thing! It's not quite as destructive as that of a blaze, but I can guarantee it's just as deadly!" Archon smirked. "And do you want to know what _else_ I can do with my armor off?" he then asked.

Before the defenders could come up with any response, Archon blurred from view, instantaneously zapping in front of the two of them. Trunks received a knee deep into his stomach, only to then have his face be grabbed and tossed into the roof of a parking garage. He then struck Caroline's chin with his sharp elbow followed by grabbing her ponytail and throwing her down to the street. To help her down faster, another bolt of lightning jolted from his hand and pinned her into the unforgiving concrete. Her smoking body was still as it lay sprawled at the center of the cracks caused from the impact. Archon landed beside her as he wore yet another manic grin.

"_Shocking_, isn't it? I've been waiting to get rid of that gaudy junk for a while now. So in that respect, I should be thanking you guys," he said to the seemingly unconscious girl. He then readied his round stone as it began to glow. "Now, let's see how resistant that body of yours is now that it's burnt to a crisp!"

As his beam came upon Caroline it startled her back to consciousness, making it look as if she was having a seizure as the light strained every cell in her body to break apart. As she yelped in pain, the lizard eagerly awaited for her to disappear. But his joys were soon put to a halt as the blade of Trunks' sword skidded across his side, leaving a small gash. The swipes from the blade were almost as fast as its wielder, making it difficult for Archon to avoid getting cut. While dodging a swing aimed for his neck, the lieutenant back flipped, and in doing so, kicked the sword right out of Trunks' grasp, leaving it to fall several feet away.

"Now that's too cute!" the creature laughed. "Big man's got a sword! Well, Spike, I don't remember ever inviting weapons into this little shindig, did I?! You wanna fight _fair_, don't you?"

"I don't see anything fair about using that stone on us!" Trunks yelled back.

"Hey now! I only use it when I know I've won the fight," he then turned to face a twitching Caroline, "And it looks like your friend there is well past being down for the count. Once I'm done with her it'll be your turn," he happily snarled.

"You're not taking anyone else, you monster!" Trunks roared as he aura burned brightly. He then charged with both of his fists pointed straight at the lizard. All the alien did in return was roll his eyes as the young man came closer.

"Yeah, like I've never heard that before."

…

One upon another, waves of colored fire spouted all throughout the skies as the Z- Fighters carefully maneuvered their way between the gaps. With every available opportunity, each would try to get their shot at the waves' creator once he was within range, but would readily be intercepted, either by the mage's brute strength or by being blasted away in a tunnel of fire. While Bardock was able to protect a small portion of his body from being burned thanks to his armor, the other two didn't have the same luxury. Both Vegeta and Gohan were losing the battle of trying to keep their clothes from burning away.

"If this keeps up for much longer, I'm gonna end up stark naked," grunted Super Saiyan 3 Vegeta as he noticed his legs and chest slowly becoming visible under his charred jumpsuit. Despite this, he again darted straight for another supposed opening and all the while loudly trying to give his two cents to his eldest teammate.

"Hey Bardock! You know what would've _really_ come in handy right about now? Fireproof attire! If you had let us all know _beforehand_ that the enemy would be a living flame thrower, I might not have had to worry about leaving this fight without a stitch on me!"

"I can't see every waking moment before it happens, Vegeta!" Bardock called back, also dawning the long hair of the third transformation, as he flew around under another wave. With instant transmission, he then teleported as close to Essepe as he could. Swinging his fists at him at every angle, he thought that he'd be able reach the giant's head, but now that the mage's armor was gone it allowed his massive frame to be just as quick as the Saiyan. Gohan and Vegeta quickly chimed in, and soon, the mage was trying to avoid _all_ of their hits, while Vegeta continued to speak his mind.

"Alright, well about failing to alert everyone that Cell was gonna blow both your and Kakarot's ass up after the Cell games? Or that Babidi would stop on by and use us like a couple puppets while his man-child assistant decimated the world's population? Or better yet, how is it that a mind reading psychic such as yourself is completely oblivious to the fact that all four galaxies are on the brink of collapse, while your half-brained son finds out about it almost half a year before everyone else does?!"

"Guys, I really don't think now's the time for—" tried Gohan.

"This ability doesn't have as many perks that you think it does, that's why it's called a curse!" shouted back Bardock and he threw his elbow directly between Essepe's eyes. However, his massive hand caught hold of Bardock's arm, and in those next milliseconds waited to the right moment to expel him from view. When the time was right, he tossed Bardock into both Gohan and Vegeta, sending them all straight into the dirt almost a hundred yards away.

"I've never seen so much squabbling amongst soldiers behind their own lines! How ever have you people been able to keep this planet protected for as long as you claim?" asked Essepe with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"Oh go to hell, you overgrown candlestick!" Vegeta yelled as he and the others stood themselves up. "We've been doing this same song and dance with saps like you for decades and have always come out on top every time, all while leaving this planet with barely a scratch on it!"

"And yet in these short hours you have allowed this forest to burn, all of your people to be captured, and my army to continue to sweep through your planet. If you ask me, I think your 'royal highness' and subjects should step down, and let a proper ruler take his place," Essepe retorted with a grin. That tore it for Vegeta.

"Okay, THAT'S IT! This thing ends right now!" Without hesitation, he then landed right in front of the mage, who looked like a mountain compared to the shorter fighter.

"Vegeta, wait!" called the two men behind him, but all Vegeta cared about at that point now was wiping that smug bastard off the face of the Earth. He immediately charged up as much energy as he could muster.

"Big Bang…_Cannon_!"

With both hands feet away from Essepe's stomach, he released his large attack, losing the two of them in the blinding light. More broken trees and dirt erupted from the valley like a tsunami from Mother Nature herself. Once things began to get back to normal and the tremors subsided, the short, dark hair of Vegeta could be seen first in the lifted dust. An attack like that at Super Saiyan Three took the remainder of his strength, but he was entirely confident that it did the trick. As the smoke cleared however, he found that he still wasn't alone.

The first of Essepe to arise out of the haze was his grapefruit-sized stone, followed by his tattered and scraped up chest, his bare shoulders, and finally the displeased expression on his face. His long, white hair had come undone and was flying in every direction.

A gloveless hand then scooped up the frozen fighter by his neck and pulled him so close that they were nose to nose, staring each other in the face. One had the look of disbelief, while the other had the look of fury.

"I have misjudged you natives. Seems all that you have to put against me is hot air and wasted energy, but now I have run out of patience with you. "

"Yeah well…you might have to put up with us…a little bit longer," finally huffed the prince, revealing a small smirk beneath Essepe's palm.

"And why's that?"

"Look up."

Following Vegeta's suggestion, the large mage lifted his head to the skies, and not a second later finding a humongous shower of water about to land right onto the two of them. Vegeta, taking advantage of the distraction, escaped the mage's hold right before it hit. The sound of the splash roared throughout the valley as water seeped its way into the dirt and scarred ground. Once Essepe was knocked over and soaked from the force of the water, all of the surrounding fires slowly began to die down and eventually disappear.

"Whoo-hoo!" cheered Goten and he and Raditz watched from above, one responsible for burning a hole in the large tarp confiscated from a nearby rescue chopper, and the other still holding the thick rope attached to it which he used to carry it after being refilled. Both men then flew to their family and friends to check on their injuries.

"Gohan! Good to see ya, bro!" smiled the youngest of the group.

"Goten? Raditz? What're you doing here?" asked Gohan, happy to see that his brother and uncle were still around to join the fight.

"All of the soldiers got cleared out back at the house, so I went to the city and found Uncle Raditz. Turns out all the ones there were beaten too. So, we saw that the forest was on fire, and that you guys were all still fighting and decided to help!" happily explained Goten as he pointed a thumb back towards the city.

"Oh yeah, Raditz?" Vegeta questioned. "What about all of the survivors in the city?"

Raditz simply gave a confident grin with his response. "Taken care of."

...

Back within the very center of the city, the walled mansion of the Satan estate had never been so overflowed with people, even at some of its biggest annual parties. People of every age and gender filled the vast lawns and extra rooms corner to corner as they constantly chatted amongst themselves at both the terror that had come upon them and the boundless 'generosity' the world's leading champion had showed them. While his staff tried to accommodate the needs of the refugees, Hercule sat slouched into his leather chair in the main leisure room, rubbing his sweating temples compulsively as the giddy pink mass known as Buu kept himself occupied by dusting the bookshelves and trophies lined across the wall, humming to himself every step of the way.

"I don't know what to do next, Buu," the champion confessed as he tried to dry the sweat from his thinning head with a handkerchief. "Everyone's expecting me to do something about this, bu-but I can't go out there! I'll just end up getting disappeared just like all the others!"

"Buu can go with you," his pink friend suggested. "But Goku's big brother said as long as we stay here, nothing will happen. You no have to go anywhere."

Hercule, feeling resolved in his convictions, then stood and walked from his desk. He knew that he should do something, at least for the civilians' piece of mind. He had been there to witness the terror caused by Cell, and he had even played a part in the defeat Majin Buu. Why would he not be there for this newfound threat?

"You don't understand, Buu. These people need somebody to look up to at bad times like these. I…I can't just sit here and let them think that the world's champion would stand around and do nothing! I've gotta protect my reputation…and stand up to those jerks!"

Now that his mind was set, he then knew what he had to do…

"We love you, Hercule!" came the hundreds of cheers from fans as the champ presented himself from the back porch from his estate, microphone in hand with large black speakers on both sides so that all could hear. If this was going to be his last day as a hero, he would address his fans as dramatically and excessively as possible. His white, long cape flutters behind him as he paced from left to right as he continued to get the people riled up.

"And I promise you…" he said as he finished his speech, "that I and my assistant will find those responsible for this and stop them once and for all, and to make sure that they never set a foot on our home again!" With that, the crowd exploded with shouts and cheers as their idol waved and said his adieus. He then placed an arm around Buu and slowly ascended out of the mansion as the citizens cried and praised him, as if he was an angel floating into heaven. Once the crowd looked like small pools of color from down below, the champ gave a sigh of relief as he climbed onto Buu's back.

"Alright, pal, you lead the way!"

"Okay!" Buu happily replied. With that, they zoomed off to the edge of the metropolis.

* * *

**AN: Of course most of you realize that this require a few more edits to a certain previous chapter, but I'm thankful that I'm still able to make the necessary tweaks even while the story's live. My apologies to all the viewers who have had to deal with my obsessive changes as of late. Honestly, with all the editing I've been doing to this story, I'm starting to wonder why I even bother sometimes. Just let the mistakes run wild! Yeah!**

**But seriously, new chapter will be up soon…**


	15. Chapter 15: First Wave (Part 2)

**A.N.: I do not own any of DB, DBZ, or DBGT. We all know who does.**

* * *

Chapter 15: First Wave (Part 2)

As the battle between Archon and Trunks continued no too far off, the rumbling from the shock waves slowly stirred Caroline back from her deep sleep. She groaned as even the attempt at turning her head caused her extreme discomfort.

"_I'm alive? Yes! I'm alive! I'm—Ow!—In a lot of pain… but still alive!"_ she mentally screamed with joy as speaking would put more strain on her body. As she tried to move, every inch of her felt as if it were being stabbed, but her instinct of survival wouldn't quit as she crawled out of her crater.

"_Gotta get out of here…gotta get somewhere safe…gotta…wait a second. That would count as breaking rule three, wouldn't it? No, that's rule four. I already broke rule three when I thought we had that creep on the ropes and he ended up bringing me down here. And I guess **this** counts as me breaking rule number one on account of succumbing to the pain, so the only rule I **didn't** break was rule two. But then again, I don't even remember using my rage as an advantage in this fight so… Yep. I'm the worst student ever."_

Trunks fired a barrage of blasts at the quick-moving lieutenant. After swerving from several of them, Archon's stick-thin legs sprung him up in an attempt to tackle the Super Saiyan, but the man quickly caught his punch. After crushing the lizard's knuckles, Trunks shoved the crippled hand hard against his enemy's forehead, immediately flailing dozens of punches and kicks at the reptile. Trunks then used a high kick, landing his foot directly into the lieutenant's frail gut. The strike sent the maroon alien into one of the parked cars left in the street.

Trunks landed and waited for his opponent to emerge. A massive streak of white electricity immediately incinerated the roof off of the vehicle. It took several more minutes before the battle worn lieutenant pulled himself out of the smoking hole he had created. Archon, finally too frustrated to pull off another one of his grisly smiles, panted as he clutched his injured hand.

"You..you insolent little bastard," he breathed as he limped his way forward. "You have no idea what I'm going to do to you after what you just did to my hand!"

Trunks didn't say a word. All he did was keep his arms to his sides and watched as the lieutenant continued to catch his breath.

"Run out of things to say?" growled Archon.

No reply came from the hybrid. This infuriated the lizard even more.

"Oh, I see how it is! You think that because you've briefly got the advantage I'm not even worth _speaking_ to anymore, is that it? Huh?!"

"You're done," was all that came from the Super Saiyan's mouth as he led his next charge.

As Trunks closed in, he noticed that the closer he got to the lieutenant, the less infuriated his expression became as it slowly turned back into his overly-used grin. Before the thought could be pondered a second longer, Archon reached his good hand forward, and with it, his crystal began to glow at the same time as his fingers did.

"My crystal might not effect you much on its own, but let's see what happens when I give it a little juice!"

A streak of both magenta and white light instantly struck Trunks before he could get his hands on the alien. Sharp pain shot throughout his body, and this time, he couldn't get himself out of it. He could feel the strength is his legs begin to fade and his vision blurred as a fog crept its way into his mind. The more he fought back, the more of a challenge it became. It wasn't long before he was on his hands and knees trying to fight off the pain as lightning surged through his body and the stone sapped his strength. He cried out as Archon danced around him, basking in his success.

"Hahahah! Today's just _full _of firsts, isn't it? And now thanks to you, I know have a new technique! Isn't that great?" he asked the struggling man. All Trunks could do was continue to voice his pain as the crystal tore at his body.

"_Trunks! He's in trouble! I…have to help him!"_ Caroline thought as she tried to pull herself up, but her body would not let her do it. It felt as if she were made of stone.

"_I can't move like this! Stupid seal!"_ she inwardly cursed. If she didn't move soon, she could lose Trunks, and quite possibly her own life if Vegeta found out and killed her for it. Somehow, that thought reminded her of something.

"_Wait a minute! Sensu beans! I've got sensu beans!" _

Before going off with Trunks from Capsule Corp., Caroline managed to stash the small bag of sensu beans beneath her body-tight armor, but since she was currently lying on her stomach, she would have to force herself to get to them.

"_Just gotta flip myself over,"_ she told herself as she used an arm to lift her upper body. She screamed in her head as she slowly got her back against the pavement and her waist and legs to follow suit.

"_Owwwww!"_ she mentally whined. With the remaining strength that she had, she hurriedly felt for the bag under her plated armor,

"_Come on, come on! Please still be in there!"_ she begged, until finally, she pulled out what remained of the tear-ridden brown pouch.

"_Alright!"_ she mentally exclaimed as she retrieve a slightly charred bean. _"No one said anything about cheating injuries, so here goes!"_ She popped the green and black seed into her mouth and chewed as fast as she could, only to be greeted by the worst taste she had ever experienced in her life. As much as she wanted to spit the bean out, she had no choice but to keep it down. As its healing powers took effect, she was finally able to speak as she attempted to spit the awfulness out of her mouth.

"Augh! They taste even worse when they're burnt!" was all she could cough out.

"What's taking so long? You should've been absorbed by now," complained Archon as he walked his way around Trunks, now reverted back to his normal state as the beam ravaged his body. All the energy left in him was used in watching the lieutenant pace around him, becoming more and more agitated with each round. He was happy that at the very least, he was still giving his enemy a hard time.

"Let him go!" came a voice from beyond the two of them. Archon glanced over his shoulder to find Caroline, dirty, bloody, and scratched up, but on her feet nonetheless.

"What the-! How the hell are you still standing? I zapped you out cold!" Archon demanded as his crystal continued to sap Trunks' energy.

"Leave my friend alone! If you want him, you'll have to get through me first!"

"Oh, how scary!" Archon teased. "And what makes you think that I'd find you to be more of a challenge now than before?"

"Easy. Before, I wasn't really all that angry. Now I am."

With a high yell she then brought her strength up to her maximum, creating a few clouds of dust around her as her aura glowed. Archon raised a scaled brow as the young Earthling walked her way towards both him and Trunks. Her pace then quickened to a jog, and then an all out sprint until she escaped from the lieutenant's view completely. In a split second, a hard punch swiped across Archon's cheek, followed by a sharp upper cut to the jaw. She then zipped behind in an attempt to strike the back of his neck, but he caught on to her movements. Archon spun to face her, and was greeted by several more jabs to his face. With his attention drawn elsewhere, his crystal's hold on Trunk's was cut off, leaving the man flat on his gut and gasping.

"Yipe!" Caroline shrieked as an electrified current whizzed by her head. Archon continued to fire beams from his crystal and working hand, but none seemed to be fast enough. In a series of flashes, the human girl would seemingly disappear in and out of his line of vision.

"Grrr. Why can't I hit you?! STOP THAT!" the lizard growled.

"Blame my teacher!" retorted the girl as she leapt from place to place instantaneously. "He was a little crazy about this kinda thing!"

Archon snarled as he deactivated his crystal.

"I've had enough of this! I don't know how you recovered, but I'll be sure to put you down for good this time!"

As he propelled himself in Caroline's direction, she had shifted out of his reach, until a two-fingered had took hold of her ankle. With a powerful swing, he then threw her into the street. Caroline quickly regained her footing and skidded across the pavement. With her restored speed, she attempted once more to land a punch on the alien. Unfortunately for Caroline, the lieutenant was able to keep up. Even with a damaged hand and uncountable bruises he was more than capable of pushing and swiping away her strikes.

"Get off of me, you pest!"

Archon quickly fired another bolt, which Caroline instinctively avoided. Before another move was made, Archon's skull collided with her stomach, and immediately after, a fist to her chin. He then focused all of his weight to his heels, crashing into Caroline's lower back. Once again, she was sent straight into the solid ground. To make sure that the Earthling remained where she landed, Archon spilled dozens of volts of electricity into the direction of the fall, creating a large dome of dirt and smoke.

Archon laughed as the haze began to clear, waiting to see what was left of her. As he watched, his eyes almost bulged out of their sockets upon discovering the area of the girl's supposed impact was bare of any bodies.

"Yoo-hoo!" Caroline called from above him. He looked around to find her hovering just a few meters away behind him, with a devious smile across her face.

"You got away?! Impossible!" Archon cried out.

"You thought I was done already? Not a chance! Now get ready for the best lights display of your life!"

Caroline then bent her knees slightly. She placed both of her hands to one side, and in doing so, positioned one hand over the other. Between her palms a small orb of light glittered and grew as each second passed. As it did, smaller circles of energy appeared around the glowing ball, drawing themselves into the larger sphere in a circular motion.

"Spiral…Comet…" began Caroline as she prepped her attack.

"W-what are you doing?" Archon asked as stumbled back from the light.

Trunks, slowly regaining his strength, used what he had to lift himself up to see what the commotion was about. What he then saw he almost couldn't believe.

"Soar!" Caroline threw her arms forward, palms open with one hand still placed on the other's fingertips. The head of the wave was oval-shaped, with a long tail that trailed off into a spinning pattern until it evaporated into thin air. Archon's face mirrored that of a deer lost in headlights as the comet hit him and curved up into the great blue yonder. It swerved in every possible angle in the sky, taking Archon with it until his screams slowly faded away. Caroline then sped to Trunks, briefly looking into the sky once more to see if there were any traces left of the lieutenant. Fortunately, there weren't.

"That should hold him for a bit. You okay?" she asked as she tried to make eye contact with Trunks, would couldn't seem to budge an inch.

"Yeah. But that crystal drained a lot out of me, I can barely move. How…what was that you did just now?"

"Oh that? That's something Bardock and I have been working on since I've been training with him. Since I don't have any attacks of my own, he suggested that I take different parts of techniques already used to help me learn faster. So, I chose to make a combination of Vegeta's Gallic gun and the Kamehameha Wave. And thus, the Spiral Comet was born," she said as she closed her eyes and smiled with pride.

Suddenly, something clenched hard at her chest as her body began to cave from the pressure, making it difficult to breath.

"What's wrong?" Trunks asked as he heard her struggle.

"The only downside…huff…is that it takes a lot of energy to make it, and that seal's getting to be a real pain…huff…But I'll be fine. Let's just get you back on your feet."

"How are you going to do that?"

"With these!" Caroline exclaimed as she revealed her brown bag out from her armor. As she reached to get another bean, there didn't seem to be any left. All she could find were small holes throughout it, most likely due to all of the wear and tear from Archon's electric shocks.

The "comet", after several minutes of sporadically looping around in the sky, eventually ran itself, and Archon, straight into the grounds of the empty public park. As the lieutenant walked his way from the site, small sparks of his own energy danced around his body as he feverishly concocted how to make the cause of his humiliation suffer.

"They can't all be gone! There's got to be one left!" Caroline fretted as she shook the pouch upside down in her last ditch effort of finding a single bean, but nothing but shredded remains of the bag's fabric fell. Before she could think, a rough jerk of her armor snapped her back into reality and into the burned and bloodied face of the lieutenant, with a look that revealed every sharpened tooth in his bruised mouth.

"That's…the final straw…" Archon snarled, slowly taking in every breath to feed the fire of his internal rage.

"Run, Caroline! Get out of here!" Trunks begged from the ground, but Caroline couldn't hear him. All she could hear was the voice of her soon-to-be murderer.

"I'm going to make you regret that…right down to the very last punch!"

With a jabbing knee to her abdomen and two solid fists to her face, he sent Caroline flying limp several feet above him. With a leap, he collided his head straight into Caroline's, bending herself over backwards and she began to freefall, but Archon wouldn't allow that. Instead, he sent her back in the upright position thanks to a powerful kick to the back of her skull, and then grabbed both of her arms from behind her. A knee to the back forcibly tore at her muscles as Archon's kneecap dug further into her spine. Pieces of her armor broke away as the two of them fell back into the street, with Archon landing right on top of Caroline's back. Caroline yelped in agony as Archon put on and off pressure onto her head with his foot.

"Got any more tricks up your sleeve?" he sneered.

"N-no! Caroline!" yelled Trunks as he tried to stand. The more he waited, the more he could feel his power slowly returning to him. "I'm…I'm coming!"

Archon wasn't paying any attention to him. He was too dead set on settling his score with the Earth girl.

"I feel we've been here before," he began and he kicked her a few feet away like a soccer ball. "Oh, yeah! We _have_ been here before! You can't seem to get away from the dirt for very long, can you? Well don't worry, you little cockroach! I've got a special place for you in my crystal—huh?" His senses instantly picked up on something coming from behind him.

Before he could fully turn around to face the source, all he saw next was the shimmer of an incoming blade. As he tried to escape, an excruciating amount of pain shot from the left side of his face. He had missed Trunks' sword, but he wasn't fast enough to save his ear. As Archon hopped away, all that he was able to feel was the smallest hint of a sub, with purple blood quickly oozing from the hole. Trunks, once again as a Super Sayian, pointed his weapon at Archon with a glare that practically pierced the lizard's soul.

"My ear! You…cut off my ear!" Archon gasped as he tried to stop the bleeding with his remaining glove.

"You'll be losing a lot more if you don't get off this planet!"

"Fat chance! You think you can beat me?! I won't allow it!"

With every ounce of strength in him, Archon fired his best assault of lightning at the Saiyan, but Trunks would make sure that it would not get him again. With his speed, he teleported out of the bolts' paths and instantly came behind Archon, sliding his sword into the holster and placing both hands on Archon's scaly back at top speed. All Archon had time for was to look at Trunks, his face pleading to show mercy. Trunks' face showed that he no longer gave a care.

"Like I said. You're done," the Super Saiyan spoke into Archon's good ear. After that, the golden light from his hands seemingly dissolved Archon's body in the brilliant light.

As the smoke cleared, Trunks could see Archon's body, blackened and lifeless as it lay at the very end of the street corner. Once Trunks knew for sure that the fight was over, he terminated his transformation. Even though he had not fully recovered from the absorption of Archon's crystal, he managed to build up as much energy as he could to deliver that last, defining blow. Now all he had left to do was to make sure that his partner was alive. As he walked to Caroline, he stumbled a little as his weak knees began to give in again.

"Caroline? Caroline, are you alright?" Trunks asked, hoping that she would show any sign of life as he knelt beside of her and lifted her head in his hands. To his luck, a few soft groans escaped her blood-dried lips.

"Oh…hey, Trunks," Caroline finally replied. "Say, when did you learn the multi-form technique? There's so many of you…spinning…changing colors…"

"_She's not in good shape,"_ he told himself as he studied her injuries and obvious delirium. He quickly picked Caroline up in his arms and tried giving her words of encouragement to help her hold on before the pain got too sever.

"You're going to be okay, I promise. Once I get you to my mom, you'll be good as new."

"_You're_ not going _anywhere_!"

Another bolt of lightning struck Trunks and Caroline down. It only took a moment for Trunks to scream in pain before he too was out like a light. Both he and Caroline, burnt out and exhausted, fell on top of each other as Archon limped to their direction. His clothes were burnt to almost nonexistence and was one ear short, but he was finally satisfied in the outcome of his mission.

"No one…huff…no one walks away from me in a fight. NO ONE!" he heaved out of his tired lungs. He hoarsely chuckled as he looked down at the Earthlings while charging his crystal.

"I hope you…huff…enjoyed living on this planet, 'cause this is the last time you're ever going to see it!"

As he laughed, his magenta beam spanned over the sleeping fighters, both neither flinching nor yelling in protest. But much to Archon's dismay, the beam's light was soon cut off and both of their bodies were still present.

"What?" was all he could breath out in sheer disbelief. In his frustration, he then fired numerous rays of zigzagging light at the two unconscious Earthlings, all producing the same result.

"Absorb. Absorb! _Absorb!_ _ABSORB!_" No matter how many times he fired, Archon's crystal refused to take the Earth natives.

"ARRRGH! This can't be POSSIBLE! What in the hell is wrong with you people?!" Archon screamed to the sprawled bodies, both of which giving no reply.

"That's it! I've _had it_ with these insects!" he yelled out in frustration once again. After focusing on the two, however, he then thought of something that had not crossed his mind in a very long while. He was told from the very beginning that coming across his master's future vessel would not be easy, and would probably take many years to find…but _these two_! Even with both of them as coherent as the concrete they were laying on, they were still resistant to the crystal's power. Could it be that he had found what he and his commander had been looking for? Whatever the matter was, he hadn't the strength or the patience to deal with them any longer.

"Perhaps I should take them to Commander Essepe," he told himself. "He'll know what to do with these pains. I'll just have to find his location and then-"

_**BOOOM!**_

Clouds of dust and ash could be seen from beyond the buildings of the city as a war was being raged from the distant forest. Birds flew in either direction from the growing mayhem as red, blue and yellow lights could be seen reflecting from the packs of smoke. The lieutenant knew of only one who could create such chaos.

"Well that was easy," Archon muttered as he tossed both Caroline and Trunks on his shoulders. He then used his frog-like legs to hop himself and his passengers in the direction of the battle.

…

"W-what on earth was t-t-that?" stammered Hercule as he and Buu looked on to the smoking wilderness from a nearby rooftop.

"Big fight over there, looks like," assessed his pink companion as he shielded his narrow eyes from the high sun.

Hercule twisted the end of his cape to keep his hands from shaking as he contemplated if his decision on leaving the mansion was such a good idea. Trying to literally shake the idea from his balding head, the champ cleared his throat in an effort to compose himself. "Well, uh…I'm sure Raditz and them are take'n care of things right now as we speak. How 'bout we look around here a little first. Maybe there are some survivors somewhere, maybe even some affiliated with the press!"

"Halt!" came a shout from the duo's right. A small hovercraft containing three Shadow soldiers flew straight for them, each aiming their stones.

"Gyah!" shrieked Mr. Satan as he hid behind Buu's large frame. "Buu! Do something!"

"Okay!" cheered the round creature. With his small antenna, Buu's beam hit the craft, and as it became engulfed, shrunk into a small, wrapped chocolate bar. The dumbfounded soldiers screamed as all three fell dozens of stories into the street and turned into puffs of mist as they landed.

"Bye, bye," waved Buu as he watched from the edge of the building. Hercule peered out from behind to watch as well.

"Thanks, friend."

"Don't mention it!"

…

"_This isn't going as well as I had hoped,"_ Bardock thought to himself as he watched from the cliff side as his son, grandsons and Vegeta continue to take their shots at Essepe. Despite the Mage's burly figure, he was quick, and the chance of getting scalded with every encounter didn't help the situation.

"_This is ridiculous! He just doesn't slow down. I can't even land much on him at Super Saiyan 3. Just how is able to keep up? To make things worse, I can't make out his energy clearly ever since he removed his armor. Is he still suppressing some, or is he using a technique to keep it consistent?"_

Goten took a hard hit to the chest as he tumbled across the grass. Before the others tried to stop him, Essepe released another round of flames for the young man while he was still down. Gohan took his brother in his arms and evaded the blast just in time. He flew to safety beside Bardock, giving Goten a chance to get some air as he cough up some dust.

"I'm okay. Really," he insisted as Gohan gave support to his back with an arm.

"You won't be if this goes on for much longer," his brother commented. Like his grandfather, he watched as Vegeta and his uncle fire a variety of blasts at the colossal figure. "He hasn't been brought down, not even once. If this continues, the whole forest will be gone and then what? What should we do, Grandfather?"

"Keep fighting him. That's all we can do. He's held up well, but everyone has a weakness, and the more persistent we are the more frustrated he'll become. He'll start to get sloppy once we get him angry enough. And once his nerves get the better of him, we'll have our chance," Bardock replied. Then lifted himself above the two. "Let's all attack as one, let him know we're nowhere near beat yet!"

The brothers nodded and followed after him into the skies.

"Vegeta! Raditz!" the old Saiyan called to the two engaged below. Raditz instinctively followed the order, while Vegeta stood and wiped the blood from his chin. Essepe simply chuckled at the brief pause of the battle.

"Finished yet? I'm sure you're all aware of this by now, but I'm running behind schedule here. If you surrender, I guarantee that the absorption will be relatively painless for you. You've got no idea on the good it will do for this universe."

"We disagree," replied Bardock. "Just what sort of good requires all beings to be stolen from their homes and turned into energy?"

"Well, to briefly put it into terms you'll understand, it seems that unenlightened creatures such as yourselves cannot handle the privilege of free will. In fact, since the very beginning of the universe's existence you have done nothing but run amok with it, causing nothing but grief. You _disagree_, you kill, you steal, you lie, all for your petty wants and needs.

My master was what some of you may call a 'god' or great deity, one with enough power to change the fabric of space if he wished, and he was displeased with the 'progress' of us life forms. Long ago, he presented an idea to his equals where free will would no longer be a part of creation's equation. Everyone would be without greed, sadness, or hate, forever kept in a state of constant tranquility."

"As long as your 'master' is there to pull the strings," Raditz added.

"Precisely. A firm hand must always be present to maintain order in such a vast cosmos, but the other overseeing beings did not appreciate his vision. They thought that such a concept would be far too 'cruel'. So, when my master rebelled they sealed him away within a dimension yet untouched by life for an eternity. But his legend lived on. Those who have been enlightened by his ways have devoted themselves to finding a method to release him so that the Rebirth can commence. He will create new life in a new image, life that will be utterly devoted to him."

"And that would be a good thing because…?"

Essepe shook his head. "Such simple creatures you are. You think that you were brought into this world to do as you please, but the reality you must accept is that everyone in this universe was meant to be ruled over, and ruled over by only one."

Another pause resounded in the valley until Bardock decided to speak.

"I've never met or heard of this master of yours, but regardless, you can't forcefully restart the balance of nature. It's the way that it is for a reason! We have free will so we can make our own paths, learn from our mistakes, and become more than what we were before! If that's taken away, then what would be the point of living?"

"You would choose to live in a world that offers you pain rather than one with no pain at all?"

"If it means that I get to learn from that pain, then yes. Allow us to demonstrate. Maybe we can still knock some sense into you," Bardock assumed, returning to his Super Saiyan state. The surrounding fighters did the same.

Altogether, Earth's defenders attempted another charge, fists balled and auras blazing. Essepe stood his ground, arms readying for them. "Go ahead, waste your strength on me! One way or another, _nothing_ can stop me from—"

"Commander!" came a hoarse Archon, bouncing closer and closer with each plateau he leapt from. The Mage groaned at the untimely arrival.

He quickly turned back to the fighters, yelling at the top of their lungs as they closed in.

The large Mage rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes. Hold that thought."

With a wave of an arm, a wall made of the same light as the crystal's beam surrounded the giant and secondary officer. The Z-Warriors collided into the thick barrier and were thrown aback by the sudden force, finding it to be virtually impenetrable.

"Lieutenant…" sighed Essepe, "Can you not see that I'm a bit preoccupied at the—good gracious, man! What happened to you?" he gasped as he caught sight of Archon, almost unrecognizable due to his injuries.

"What happened? WHAT HAPPENED? I'll TELL you what happened! THESE happened!" screeched back Archon as he threw the two young adults to the ground.

"Dammit, Trunks!" Vegeta spat as he and the others looked on from behind the barrier, all immediately recognizing the pair.

"Really, Archon? _Children_ did this to you?" Essepe questioned as he surveyed the captives.

"They're stronger than they look, sir. I swear!"

"Yes, that seems to be a reoccurring theme with these natives," muttered the commander as he shifted his eyes to the barrier.

"But that's not why I brought them here, sir. No matter how hard I tried-and believe me, I tried-I couldn't get them absorbed. Even at the state they're in now, my crystal won't take them. They…they were _rejected_ sir!"

"Oh really…" pondered the commander as he knelt to the pair. He then held Trunks' head up by his skull within one hand to get a better look at the boy.

"Hey! Get your filthy hands off my son!" Vegeta rang from behind the wall.

"Oh! So this is one of your Saiyan offspring, is he? And what about the girl? Your daughter perhaps?" Essepe guessed.

"One of mine?! HA! Try 'forcefully adopted' thanks to my mate!"

"I see. Interesting."

"Um…what's a Saiyan, sir?" asked a wide-eyed Archon.

"A race that has proven to be a persistent thorn in my side," answered Essepe as he arose. "However, this business regarding the crystal's rejection is puzzling. It seems that Lord Aizel will have to get a closer examination of these inhabitants. Archon, since you have already incapacitated these two and _clearly_ have no further use on the battlefield, you should have no trouble taking them back to the ship. When I finish things here, I will accompany you back to headquarters."

_No! No! No! No! No! No! No, NO! _

King Kai's sudden screams caused a sharp headache for Bardock as he grasped his forehead.

"King Kai? What's all the yelling about?"

_Do I really have to explain it?! You cannot let Caroline OR Trunks go with them! Do you understand? If you do, then there's no telling what could happen to them once they arrive at their base of operations! For all we know, they could already have found a way to make either of them into a catalyst! If they go, it's all over!_

"Yes, sir!" saluted Archon with his good hand. He then dragged his sleeping cargo several feet away to prepare for their departure. Essepe then turned back to his current obstacles.

"Now, where were we?" With another wave of his hand the shield disintegrated, and to Essepe's surprise, there remained no one waiting on the other side.

"Hm? Where—" his peripheral vision kicked in as multiple bodies soon zipped in from above him. All full-blooded Saiyans aimed for any possible weak points as they threw their bodies upon him. With a few twists and turns, the giant weaved his way around each strike, but due to the smaller beings' speed it kept him busy, just as Bardock expected it to.

Archon crouched above Trunks and Caroline with outstretched arms. He began to softly murmur a series of words in an unfamiliar language. As he did, he placed his hands upon the ground, causing two small lines of electricity to shoot across the dirt and then upward to join together at the top, creating the outline of a large triangular door. As Archon continued, the center of the door tore open, revealing a vortex of flashing colors, as time and space seemed to be merging together.

As the lizard observed the process, the torso of a young man in an orange uniform appeared between him and his abductees in an instant, preventing him from completing the summons.

"Huh?"

"Leaving so soon?" Gohan asked the startled lieutenant. He looked behind to see Goten hover in, transforming in to his Super Saiyan state.

"Oh good, more blonde people," Archon grunted as he returned to Gohan. "Well, I'd like to stay, but I have a pair of Earthlings to deliver. So would you be so kind…as to get out of my way!"

Archon's electrified beam shot Gohan far beyond the treetops and into the sky. The half-Saiyan quickly recovered and flew back into his direction as Goten followed. Archon scrambled to shoot the brothers down with an array of bolts, bringing down several trees and a plateau or two untouched by the previous battle.

"Woah! This guy uses lightning?" Goten asked himself in amazement when the lights ceased.

Archon smirked as he put his working hand upon his hip. "What? Does my gift _spark_ your interest?"

"Haha! Good one."

"Goten!"

"Right! Sorry, bro!"

Goku's boys then went straight to the lizard, which in turn readied his stone.

Trunks' cheeks twitched as the racket kept growing louder and louder as he began to wake. Once his eyes opened, he realized that he was no longer in the city, and that Caroline was resting peacefully next to him in the grass. A bright flash then directed his attention to the two half-breeds and monster just a few feet away.

"Gohan! Goten!"

Without a second thought he sprang into the fray, getting the jump on the lieutenant as he was about to fire at his friends.

"Hey there!" he called to Archon as he flew into the alien's exposed back. After staggering back on his feet, Archon couldn't believe his eyes as Trunks joined the other hybrids, giving him a confident smirk.

"Hrrr! S-stop it! Stop getting back up!" Archon huffed.

"I was about to say the same thing to you. I almost feel sorry for you right now, being in the state you're in," Trunks retorted. "It's funny, though. Back at the city, you seemed happy to find me so strong, so what's changed? I thought you were craving a challenge? Isn't this what you wanted?"

Unbeknownst to the four of them, Caroline continued to sleep soundly as the portal began to behave oddly. A small wave of wind began to pull at her loose hair and the grass blades around her. Soon, small pebbles and twigs were getting trapped in the door's suction.

As the three men surrounded Archon, he found himself pressed against a stone hillside and sweating bullets. His crystal was useless on these freaks, and his gift was just the same.

"Uh, C-Commander?" he stuttered. "I could use a little assistance…"

"You're still here?!" called back Essepe as he kept pace with the assault of the Saiyans. "I gave you an order, Lieutenant! Take the children and get back to the ship!"

"Easier said than done, sir," grumbled Archon as he glanced over to the girl. The portal, having not been given the full coordinates, was starting to fall apart. His only chance was to make a break for it with the female Earthling, and hope that whatever place was on the other end of the doorway would allow to him make it back to headquarters.

The winds by the portal intensified as Caroline was beginning to actually be pulled towards the nearby doorway. The sudden movement caused her pain, and her pain gradually began to wake her.

"T-Trunks…?" she asked, still half-asleep.

"Later, meat bags!" Archon speedily sprang his way to the portal. Gohan stopped him in his tracks just before he could get close enough. The reptile instinctively hopped backward and fired what he had left into the man's path. As Gohan got caught in the current, the lizard came close so his crystal could take as much from Gohan as it could while his prey screamed. Much to Archon's surprise, a smirk soon appeared on the electrified half-Saiyan's face as he rested his hands unto the lizard's shoulders, channeling to him his own electricity. Essepe took a second from his brawl to see if his officer had been able to carry out his order. He growled instead upon seeing a smoldering Archon fall to the ground in defeat amongst the Earthlings.

"We did it!" Goten exclaimed as he gave his older brother a fist bump. He then slapped his best friend on the back. "I was worried about you for a minute there, bud, but I knew you wouldn't be down for long."

"Thanks. I'm just glad that stone of his didn't absorb me. I fought with everything I had even as a Super Saiyan and it still took all of my strength. Caroline had to distract him while I—" he then remembered that Caroline was still badly injured and had to be taken to safety. As Trunks looked for her, his eyes bulged in shock as he watched his partner get blown away into the unstable portal.

"Oh no! Caroline look out!" he yelled as he flew to her aid. The Son brothers immediately followed.

Caroline was just a leg's distance from the door's edge. The high winds and Trunks' voice startled her awake, and the first things that caught her eye were the glowing portal and the unknown waiting inside it. All she could think about was when she was sucked out of her room from one much like it over a month ago. The thought of going through that ordeal again terrified her, forcing her body to move as fast as she could as the door began to close and the winds grew stronger.

"H-HELP! SOMEBODY!"

"Hang on!" ordered Trunks as he dug his heels into the dirt to keep himself from getting pulled in. Goten grabbed his arm and jerked him back.

"Wait! If you get any closer you'll be sucked away too!"

"Goten, you hold onto Trunks! I'll hold you two back," Gohan instructed. Following his suggestion, the three linked together and Trunks began to crawl his way to Caroline while Goten locked his arms around Trunk's legs.

_BARDOOOK!_ roared King Kai in the eldest Saiyan's skull. Hoping that his grandchildren had taken care of the lieutenant, he flew out of his hand-to-hand combat with the Mage. Instead of finding everyone to be alright, he watched in horror as Caroline's feet and legs made their way into the shrinking portal as Trunks struggled with the others to reach her.

Leaving Vegeta and Raditz to handle Essepe, he too flew to help as quickly as he could.

"I don't wanna go in there again!" panicked Caroline as she grasped a few tuffs of grass. Trunks stretched out his arm to her. A few more inches, and he was almost able to reach her fingers. Before Bardock got to them, the portal's suction became too much for the Earth girl. With her legs and waist already taken, a strong gust was all that it took to pull in the rest of her away before Trunks could grab her hand. As soon as she passed through, the portal was reduced to a small flash and vanished.

Trunks and Goten fell on their faces as the winds disappeared in an instant. A stunned Bardock landed instantly, terminating his transformation. His eyes were still set on where the portal used to be. For a moment everyone, even Essepe, were stock still in silence.

King Kai could not take the news. He thudded to the floor after fainting in the grand building of Otherworld. Gregory and Bubbles desperately tried to help him up and fan his sweating head.

"N-no…" the aged Saiyan whispered as he clutched the dirt below him.

Raditz and the prince looked on in disbelief as Essepe smiled and crossed his arms. He then took several thunderous steps in Bardock's direction as the kneeling fighter folded over frustration.

"I…I failed. She was my responsibility…and I let her fall into harm's way. No!"

"Oh dear. It seems you've lost one. What a pity." Bardock gritted his teeth at the Mage's mocking remark.

"No matter. It seems that any of you would make fine specimens for Lord Aizel once this is all over." The only reply he received from Bardock was watching the warrior slam his fists into the dirt while hanging his head. The sight made Essepe grin with triumph

"I can see it now, the look of defeat, the urge to finally surrender to the inevitable. You've fought well, but we all knew that it would not last forever. Don't deny it any longer. Let my crystal take your pains away, let fate take its course."

"How dare you…"

Essepe raised a brow as he observed the still hunched-over Saiyan. "I beg your pardo—"

"You heard me! How _dare_ you to think for even a second that I would choose to give up now. After what you've done…it'll only press me to keep on going, until there isn't an ember of you left! To hell with you! To hell with your master, and to hell with your damned crystal!"

In an instant, the form of Bardock vanished, only to have him teleport face to face with Essepe. Before the giant could flinch, a ki-charged fist collided with the red stone. A large crack made its way diagonally at the force of the impact. Strange images and faces flooded Bardock's mind as soon as he touched the gem. Pieces of Essepe's past with the Shadow Mages, the voices of the millions he had absorbed, this "Lord Aizel" he spoke of, and the "source" of his power clouded his sight as he fell on his side holding his forehead with both his hands. As Bardock rolled back and forth at the overload of information, Essepe worriedly studied his stone as a colored mist seeped its way from the large crack.

"You…you meddlesome wretch!"

"Grandfather!" cried the brothers.

"Father!" Raditz yelled as he rushed to Bardock's side.

"L-leave me!" Bardock gasped as he grabbed his eldest son's brown gi. "Focus on stopping that monster!"

"Yes, try to stop me! Stop me from putting that man IN HIS GRAVE!" Essepe then stood once again before the group, more infuriated than ever before.

"That crystal came at a very hefty price! And you, my unfortunate friend, almost destroyed it. I can't allow you to get away with that without punishment. And as long as I have at least one of you alive to bring back with me, it will be more than satisfactory. The rest can settle in the afterlife!"

The fighters each took their stance as Essepe prepared to for the next round.

"Now, prepare for the end!" The mage then threw a clenched fist forward, anticipating his opponent's to dodge another tunnel of fire. However, when he did so, not even a puff of smoke appeared from his knuckles. All eyes expanded in surprise as the commander tried to conjure any heat, but each attempt failed.

"What is this? What—What have you done?"

"Well, well. Looks like someone's run out of feed for his fire," grinned Vegeta as he placed his hands on his hips.

"It's the stone," explained Bardock as slowly got back up on his feet, a hand still covering the side of his face. "That crystal is what's making him so strong. Every person that's been absorbed here is being used as a supplier to him. If we break it, he'll be helpless."

Essepe staggered back as each of his six foes eyed at the crystal in question. "You think I'll let you get close enough to do so?" he shakily asked.

"Well, big guy, let _me_ put this into terms _you'll_ understand," Vegeta began. "There's six of us, and only one of you. And from the looks of things, your little 'gift' has timed out thanks to your damaged rock, which means that you'll be reduced to fighting only with your natural amount of speed and stamina. And considering your size and the energy I'm currently sensing, you won't last long."

"You cause one small scratch and you think that you've instantly won. How arrogant," scoffed the Mage as he retracted into his stance. He then lunged at the group, aiming straight to the prince, but with a swift move from his target, his fist merely landed feet into the dirt. He struggled as he yanked his wide arm out from the ground.

Vegeta crossed his arms at the scene. "Please! After all the garbage I've had to hear come out of your mouth today, I think we can all agree on who's the most arrogant here!"

"Weeell…"

"Shut up, Raditz! Anyway," he returned his attention to Essepe, "It looks like you've been grounded again. Remember how well that worked the first time?"

"A minor setback! I can still go for days at this rate, even without my gift!"

"What a coincidence! So can we! You see, Saiyans were never made to be ruled over. We were made to fight and conquer in an effort to get stronger, and put pretentious imbeciles like yourself in your place. If there's one thing you should know by now in this fight, it's that we don't go down easy."

Essepe's forehead began to sweat as he pondered exactly what he had gotten himself into on this planet. Vegeta saw this and tauntingly gestured him to come forward with one hand.

"Your move, big man."

* * *

_Meanwhile… Somewhere…_

"Don't get too close! What's the matter with you!"

"Relax, toots! I'm just try'n to get a better look, is all!"

"She's just a kid. What do you think she did to be brought all the way down _here_?"

"How should I know? Didn't have a pleasant flight down, by the looks o' her."

"At least she _has_ a body!"

"Hold on a minute, guys! I think she's wak'n up!"

Caroline slowly opened her eyes. At first, there were nothing but moving blurs to be seen, but after a few seconds, her eyes focused to find three small, white puffs of clouds hovering around her. She was about to put blame on the multiple bouts of head trauma for the hallucinations until one of the faceless clouds spoke up in a voice that sounded high on helium.

"Hiyah, doll face!"

Caroline's frightened scream drove away the talking puffs as she leapt herself against a stone ledge. As she sat to catch her breath, she found that she was nowhere near Satan City, but stuck on what appeared to be the edge of some sort of canyon. The sky was dark and cloudy with smears of red, but no thunder or lightning presented itself. The ground was hard and cold, and littered with curved and crooked stalagmites.

"Geeze, toots! Keep your shirt on! We don't wanna cause no trouble," came the high-pitched voice of the first puff as he and his two companions emerged from behind a rock pile.

"What's going on? Who are you?" Caroline asked, trying to keep some distance between her and the strangers.

The leader came closest to the girl. "I am Mo."

"Janet," followed the one to his left.

"Louie," added the one on the right.

"You gotta name, kid?" Mo asked.

"C-Caroline. It's Caroline," the human replied.

"Caroline, eh? Well, Carrie, all I can really offer ya is my condolences. What did a fresh face like yourself do to get into this place?"

"What did I do?" Caroline looked to the red skies as she rubbed the back of her throbbing head where Archon had last kicked it, "I don't really know. I remember fighting, getting hurt, and after that I got thrown through some door, but it's all a bit blurry."

"It's always a shame when they don't remember how it ends. Happens so fast they don't even know what hit 'em," sighed Janet.

"What do you mean? And if you don't mind my asking, where exactly is 'here'?"

"You don't know where you are yet, kid? Hate to break it to ya, but it seems King Yemma found a few too many stains on your record just like the rest of us," explained Mo.

Caroline's eyes grew about two sizes. What did King Yemma have to do with anything? "W-what?"

"You're in the Underworld, dear," Janet then said.

"WHAT!" Caroline instantly stood on her feet and instinctively ran in the end of the ledge. There, a muffled gasp escaped her mouth as she looked at the horrific wasteland hundreds of feet below her. Among the jagged rock formations, spiked tumble weeds, and thousands of white specs of spirits floating about, rivers of blood and lava stretched as far as the eye could see. Pointy, faded mountains encompassed the vast horizon of the area.

Caroline began to hyperventilate as she pulled onto the side locks of her hair. Mo simply shrugged off her reaction as he and his spiritual compatriots hovered beside her.

"Well, Carrie, welcome to Hell!"

* * *

**A.N. : Yeah. As you can see, I just loooove giving my characters a hard time. Please review!**


	16. Chapter 16: Out of The Frying Pan

**A.N. : I do not own DB, DBZ or DBGT. Period.**

* * *

Chapter 16: Out of the Frying Pan, into the Land of Fire

"AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEEEE" was the only articulation of Caroline's thoughts as her high-pitched scream echoed throughout the land of the dead…the damned dead.

"That's what they all say when they first end up here," Mo told himself. Caroline ignored his comment as she felt she was about to explode. Just what exactly happened to her after she went through that portal?

"I can't be dead! I CAN'T be! There must be some mistake!" she rationalized to the small spirits, all unaffected by her ranting.

"That's _also_ what they all say when they end up here. I'm telling ya, these newbs are like a broken record," Mo said as he leaned over to Janet.

"But I never died! I've never even met King Yemma before!"

"Then why are you here, toots?"

Caroline couldn't take it anymore. She was stuck there, Hell, of all places, and no one could help her. Not Vegeta, not Bardock, not even Goku at this rate, even if he _was_ around. She slumped against the stone ledge again, and wrapped her arms around her legs tightly as she lowered her head between her kneecaps in despair.

"So, this is it. This is how it ends…" she then trailed off into a series of mumbles and whimpers. Seeing that she wasn't taking things smoothly, her three new acquaintances gathered around the girl as they tried to cheer her up.

"Aw, come on kid. It ain't so bad once ya get used to it. At least you didn't get dropped off in the lower region. That's were all the _real_ nasties are!" tried Mo.

"You're one to talk! The only nasty one I see here is _you_! You're the one who got us sent down here in the first place!" retorted Janet as he crossed her stubby arm-like limbs in anger.

"Hey! I wouldn't a' killed ya and got myself whacked if you hadn't been fooling around with _this_ mook behind my back!" argued Mo as he extended a trail of his ectoplasm in Louis' direction.

"Well that's what you get for get bringing a _knife_ to a gun fight!" Louis chimed in.

"And yet I still won. Probably wudda lived too if a doctor was nearby. If you ever get reincarnated, learn to work on your aim!"

"Why I ought'a…!"

"Wait a second! Wait a second!" Janet exclaimed, cutting between the two of them. "Mo, look!" she then turned his attention to Caroline. "Look at her head. There isn't anything there!" Mo quickly noticed the abnormality.

"You're right, doll! She ain't got a halo!" realized the head spirit; he didn't need a face to show his surprise as he jolted back a little. Caroline shot her head up at the curious remark. "What do you mean?"

"Anyone with a body down here has a halo, it's the order of things! And you're missing one! But that ain't possible!" explained Mo, almost fearfully at the idea. "Unless…"

"Unless I'm ALIVE!" cheered Caroline as he balled her hands into fists with excitement.

"I told you I wasn't dead! Isn't that great?" She noticed that they were all much closer then they were just a few seconds ago. Much closer.

Mo no longer had a shiver of fear in his voice when he spoke. "Yeah, sure. That's nice and all but you see, uh…GET HER!"

At his command, all three spirits flung themselves at Caroline. As she stood and tried to pull them off of her, she found that her hands ran right through their poor excuses for bodies. No matter what she did, they stuck to her like glue, and their touch sent a violent chill throughout her body.

"What're you doing?! Get off!"

"No way, toots! You got any idea what a heart-beater's life force does for souls like us? They say if we feed on it long enough, we can actually feel like our old selves again for a while! We can't skip out on an opportunity like this!" Mo said as he clung to her left shoulder

"I can feel it!" came Janet who was currently clinging to Caroline's leg. "I can feel the warmth coming from her! I almost feel alive again!" Now Caroline had had enough.

"You little creeps better get off of me! RIGHT NOW!" With a small burst of her energy, the trio was blown away in an instant. She then flew several feet from the ledge, hoping the puffy leeches wouldn't be able to get to her.

"Oh lighten up, sweet cheeks! We weren't gonna hurt ya or noth'n! We just wanted to be able to actually _feel_ again!" defended Mo as he and the others hovered in either direction on the ground, squirming to get their twisted fix again.

"Too bad! Looks like you jerks all got what you deserved. As for me, I'm getting out of here!" With that, she flew off to the tops of the canyons and eventually out of sight.

"Yeah? Well good luck with that one!" a put off Mo yelled back. "Once you're here, you _stay_ here! A dumb broad like you will never get outta Hell. Never!"

Caroline tried her best to ignore the spirit as his voice rang back and forth through the large canyons. Luckily, a quick slap from Janet soon cut him off from his warnings.

"What was that for?" asked Mo.

"Don't give me that! I saw where you were on her!"

"Babe, it's been years! I still have needs y'know! Beggars can't be choo—" **WHACK!** "OW!"

Caroline surveyed the grounds as she flew several hundred yards above it, finding every inch to be just as barren and ugly as the last.

"How am I going to find a way out? At this rate, I could fly around for decades and I still wouldn't get anywhere." She then looked to the sky with a new, hopefully brilliant, idea.

"The sky! Beyond those clouds might be Snake Way! I might be able to get through!" It was a long shot, but she was currently out of options. In Goku's case, he was trapped down in Hell in an attempt to train with King Kai and had to fight Yemma's minions to get back to the Check-In Station. Unfortunately, Caroline couldn't find an ogre anywhere, and had no idea how to get to the secret passageway. She prayed that her not being dead would prevent the laws of the underworld from having an effect on her. Without a second thought, she skyrocketed to the dark masses.

"All or nothing! Alright clouds, open says me—"

**THUNK!**

As her skull collided hard with the rolls of clouds, hard as rock despite their fluffy appearance, all Caroline could do was shriek across the valley as loud as her lungs could make it. Evidently the laws of this astral plane held no exclusive privileges.

"What? A human from the land of the living lost in _my_ underworld? How is that even possible?" asked a furious King Yemma as he knocked over some of his extra paperwork upon hearing the news. His office was just as cramped and cluttered as ever, despite the Shadow Mages' 'clean-up' work going on throughout the galaxies, but that was the least of his concerns at the moment.

"We're still figuring that out, sir!" stammered a horned, blue-skinned employee, like an ant about to be squished by a giant. "We have reports of one being spotted just outside of one of the descending levels, that's all we know right now!"

"Well what are you standing around _here_ for? Get a search party started and find 'em!"

His assistant was about to voice his agreement, when a frantic fellow demon dressed in matching attire, except for a pair of thick glasses, ran into the office out of breath. He tried to speak, but couldn't get out anything coherent.

"Oh, what now?" the head ogre asked in exasperation.

"Lord Yemma," finally stated the spectacled worker. "I have…huff…terrible news!"

"And?"

"It's from Sectors 6 and 7, sir! I've just got word that several of the areas on both levels have been breached from the inside out! The task force tried to hold the rebellion back but they were overpowered! The souls are getting out, sir, and it seems most of them are Freiza's former subordinates!"

"WHAT!" Yemma's voice shook the entire building, maybe even all of Hell for that matter. "MY MEN FAILING TO KEEP THOSE CRETINS IN LINE? UBSURD!"

"B-but it's t-true, sir…" stuttered the demon as he lifted a few fallen papers off of him.

"And just _which_ Sector was that human spotted in?" Yemma asked, gritting his teeth to try to control his boundless temper.

"Um…Area 3 of Sector 5, sir…"

King Yemma, looking redder than usual, pinched between his closed eyes to try to focus his rage and find a solution. Breakouts had been attempted before, just not one of this magnitude, but the motives were always the same. Areas 6 and 7 housed some the deadliest beings in the universe. If two levels filled with them were already coming apart, then they'd no doubt move north. Without much effort, they'd eventually head straight for the only available exit in a desperate chance of freedom, the Station. He sighed heavily as he weighed his options.

"If Grand Kai gets word of this, he'll never let me hear the end of it," he muttered under his breath as he reached a decision.

"It seems that we will have to acquire a little extra help to keep this problem from getting out of hand. I want _you two_ to send word to whoever's still active down there and tell them to look for the best help they can find to make sure that rebellion doesn't get anywhere beyond Sector 6. Got it?"

The two pencil pushers gasped at such an idea. "But, sir! That would mean asking assistance from the very citizens of Hell! They're down there for a reason, Lord Yemma! Who could we possibly trust to help us keep them in their place?"

King Yemma didn't have to rub his chin long to come up with an answer. "You said that most of these rebels were Frieza's men, right?"

"Yes, Lord Yemma," responded the sight-impaired demon. "But what does that have to do with anything, sir?"

Surprisingly to everyone in the large room, a grin appeared on the great ogre's face. "I think I know just the people!"

"Oooooh…" Caroline groaned as she continued across the wastelands. She gently rubbed her throbbing skull in an effort to ease the pain, but to no avail.

"I'm sorry, noggin. Today hasn't been a good day for you has it. The minute I get back, that ugly dinosaur's gonna know what it feels like to get his head bashed in a couple of times over!"

As she plotted, something caught the corner of her eye. Far down below, there appeared to be a white figure moving about one of the numerous trenches by the blood rivers. As she flew in a bit closer, she instantly recognized the huge letters spelling "HELL" on the front and back of the figure's white tank top, covering his green, muscular body.

"That's one of Yemma's henchmen! Maybe he can get me to the Check-In Station!" Without hesitation, she made her way down to great the ogre, who was currently munching on his break time snack. Caroline landed right behind him unnoticed, realizing just how big he was. His upper body took up the majority of his size and Caroline wasn't even half his height, but his appearance didn't bother her in the slightest.

"Excuse me!" The ogre lifted his horned head with a piece of a power bar still stuck between his teeth. He turned to find a small, blonde girl, covered in scrapes and bruises, but wearing an oddly huge smile on her face. "Sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you could help me."

"Can't do too much for you down here," the minion replied suspiciously as he chewed down his last bite.

"Well, that's just it. I'm not supposed to be here. I'm not even dead and I somehow got myself here. There's a huge battle going on back on Earth and I really, _really_, need to get back there as soon as possible."

The ogre walked over and studied the little human, but the look on his face was an obvious giveaway that he wasn't buying it. "Sorry, girlie. Those kind of tricks might have worked upstairs, but it ain't gonna work here. You know the rules. King Yemma doesn't appreciate any liars in his domain," he stated as he crossed his bulky arms.

"What? It's not a lie! I'm telling the truth!" she then pointed to the empty space above her head. "If I was lying I'd have a halo, wouldn't I?"

This made the ogre's eyes grow wide at the sudden realization. He didn't even notice it before. He circled around her once to make sure she wasn't somehow concealing it, finding nothing out of the ordinary. "You're right! You _don't_ have a halo! Then that means…That's means you're the one Lord Yemma's been looking for!" he said, pointing a finger straight at her, almost terrified at the sight of her.

"King Yemma's looking for me?"

"Oh, this isn't good! We have to get'cha outta here! A blood-pumper like you shouldn't be in a place like this! SHIN! Get over here!" the ogre shouted over to the shadows of the trench. What emerged was a smaller minion, barley up to Caroline's waist in height, similar to Yemma's office workers. He wore a white shirt, business pants and a tie, and carried with him a small clipboard filled with papers. On his head was a small, yellow helmet with a light hooked onto its center to help him see amongst the darkness of the caverns. He hurriedly filed next to the larger demon, puffing up his chest as he stood to attention, like a cadet to his drill sergeant.

"What is it, sir?" Shin asked.

"Shin, this human needs to be taken to King Yemma's immediately. I'm leaving the responsibility on you to get her there without any trouble," the head ogre ordered.

"Really? What for?"

"What're you talking about? Just look at her! She's from the living world!"

Shin's short, black hair then stood on its end at the thought as he looked over to the girl in question. "S-she's still alive?! Oh this is serious indeed! Don't worry, miss, I'll get you to Lord Yemma's in no time at all!"

"That's fantastic!" smiled Caroline, happy that things were finally starting to look up. "But how are we going to get there?"

"The best way possible, of course! Hell's number one method of transportation." He then clapped his hands twice, summoning a small explosion of smoke to appear behind the short demon. The haze soon cleared, revealing to Caroline a pale-yellow 50's style car, shined and polished like new with "YEMMA" written boldly on each side.

…

"So, you say a portal brought you here?" Shin asked as he drove himself and Caroline along the edge of the cliff side.

"I don't really know _what_ it was. All I really remember is getting pulled into it. Next thing I know, I'm down here," his passenger explained. She couldn't help but feel the déjà vu of her getting sucked into magical doorways as she got herself comfortable in the back seat.

"Very strange," Shin said to himself lightly, "Well it's a good thing you found me when you did. I was just about to head back to the station to hand in my reports anyway."

"Thanks again for doing this," Caroline said as she picked up Shin's helmet to get a better look at it. "What exactly do you do, Shin?"

"Who? Me? Why I'm a surveyor," replied Shin with a wide smile. "It's my job to explore new territories of certain sectors and take notes to see which souls can go where. Hell still has a lot of grounds not being used yet, so it's up to people like me to cover that territory. Sounds exciting, right?"

Caroline looked from her window at the blackened valley lying below the cliffs. "I guess so, although I'd probably wanna switch locations."

Shin noticed her from his rear window and looked to the valley as well. Not too far off, an unbelievably enormous sinkhole sat in the wasteland, far too dark and eerie for anyone to see into. No one would dare get close to it anyhow considering what waited at the bottom. "You know you're incredibly lucky. If you had headed in the opposite direction, you would've headed straight for border of Sector 6!"

"What's Sector 6?"

"Well, Hell is made up of nine different sectors total. When you die and are sent here, the sector that you're assigned to is determined by the severity of your crimes when you were alive, and the further down you go the worse it gets. Sector 6 is one of the lower levels of this place. And word through the fiery grapevine has it that there's been a little conflict going on down there with the damned."

"Really?!"

"Don't worry. We'll soon be far away from any of that. Besides, King Yemma has already taken precautions to make sure they don't break through to where we are. We won't be having any...WHAT THE-?!

Multiple energy blasts soon landed their way in front of the moving car and immediately blocked Shin's path. It wasn't long before the vehicle itself got caught in the assault and exploded when hit. Luckily, Caroline grabbed Shin and found a way out just in time. Shin shook in Caroline's arms as he watched the smoking remains from a safe aerial distance.

"No! My car! And all my paperwork!" he grieved as the two of them landed. Caroline simply stood where she was, not sure of what exactly just happened.

"Aw look! We broke the little shrimp's toy," came a familiar voice from above. Caroline and Shin's eyes bulged as they found a small fleet of hovering soldiers, most of whom Caroline had recognized to be wearing Frieza's armor. But the one she could not look away from was the soldier in the center. She'd know his round, purple-lipped face anywhere. Before her was one of Frieza's best men. Dadoria.

"Hey! Just what do you think you're doing?! Do you have any idea how many codes you just violated? Not to mention you just destroyed a vehicle provided by the Hell Task Force and King Yemma himself! You should be ashamed of yourselves!" shouted Shin as he riddled himself free of Caroline's arms to confront the lot. The soldiers merely snickered at the demons laundry list of grievances.

"We don't go by King Yemma's rules anymore. Actually, we never really _did_ from the get go," Dadoria explained from the skies. Shin stepped back a few paces, realizing he had little control of the situation.

"Y-you're all from the lower sectors aren't you. Why are you doing this? What do you want?"

"It isn't what _we_ want. It's what Frieza wants," he then pointed beyond Shin to a stock still Caroline. "And that would be her." Dadoria's object of interest suddenly felt her stomach lurch.

"F-Frieza?"

"That's right. It seems he requires your assistance."

Caroline gave a nervous smile and felt her eye twitch as she tried to speak. "W-what could Frieza p-p-possibly want with m-me?"

"To aid in his resurrection!" echoed yet another voice that triggered Caroline's memory. However, no body could be found as the source, until it literally popped in right next to Dadoria out of thin air.

"Greetings, child!" cackled Babidi as he made his entrance. Every bit of him was just as unsightly as the last time she had seen him. Now she was really feeling sick.

"Babidi?!" was all she could gasp out.

"Ah, it seems that my reputation has preceded me well after my untimely death," the flea-like sorcerer grinned as he curtseyed with his cape.

"But I…you…why are you…" Caroline just couldn't find the words to voice her confusion.

"Yes, yes. The big question on everyone's minds: What you and I possibly have to do with resurrecting Frieza? Well, my dear, it's all very simple actually. See, where I was discarded, along with most of the gentleman you see behind me, we were given the privilege of using a crystal ball as a window to the land of the living. We _know_ about those 'mages' on Earth your friends are dealing with right now, and we _also_ know how you were brought into Hell.

And while you were recovering, unconscious after your arrival, I had an interesting idea. I'm sure you've noticed that your life force is quite valuable to us souls. Contact with you can give us the false sensation of our bodies being fully restored. But what would you say if I told you that there were a way to use one's life force to fully bring the dead back to life?" Caroline didn't like were this was going, and her face represented it perfectly to the dead adversaries.

"It's a spell my father came across during his time here a few centuries ago. Unfortunately, he was unable to test it since no one's technically alive here, well, until _you_ came along that is. Upon discussing the matter, Frieza just so happened to be nearby and seemed fairly interested on the subject, and has offered a very sweet reward for my services in making it possible for him!"

"He's offering a reward for all of us!" Dadoria added as he leaned an arm to his squad. "Him wishing us back to life with the dragon balls, in return for our allegiance and involvement in your capture." Yup. Now Caroline was definitely sick. Shin didn't seem very well either at this rate.

"S-so…where is F-Frieza n-now?"

"He's waiting with Bibidi at the edges of Sector 7. To prove his subject's worth of being revived, he's made this little hunt somewhat like a game. First one to bring you to Frieza is the first to be brought back and granted a high standing in his reformed empire," smirked Dadoria. "And I 'spose it's gonna be me."

"And regardless of who wins, _I_ will be named his new head sorcerer! I'll get all the statuses and galactic treasures a humble practitioner of the dark arts can ask for and not even have to lift a finger!" cheered Babidi as he giddily imagined his luxurious new lifestyle.

"And what makes you think he's not just using you to get himself out of this place?" Shin asked, hoping to find a loophole in their plan and settle this uprising.

"We're not _stupid_, worm! You think I'd allow Frieza to double cross _me_, an all-powerful wizard, and get away with it? This resurrection will be _my_ doing and that means it'll make him forever susceptible to _my_ magic, even if he leaves me stranded in the Underworld! If he goes back on his word, I'll put a curse on him so awful he'll wish he had never been reborn. That's the price Frieza will have in this bargain of ours, one he seemed fairly willing to pay."

"Another thing he promised was that we'd each get to kill the ones responsible for bringing us here," Dadoria chimed in. "And I've been itching for decades to get back at that bastard Vegeta."

"Oh, right! How could I have forgotten? It'll be so nice to see Bardock and company again. Watching Frieza rip him and his family limb from limb will be excellent therapy after they cost me my chance at world domination," the wizard said with a maniacal look of anticipation.

Caroline's rage switch instantly flickered on at the sorcerer's statement as Shin hid himself behind her legs. "If anyone will be doing the limb-ripping, it'll be Bardock! He and the others sent you here, and they'll do it again!"

"I'm sure they'll try. However, once Frieza is revived and wishes for his immortality, they might find it to be a bit difficult," sneered Dadoria.

"_He's_ not going to get that far! And he's sure as, well, this place, not going get resurrected!"

"Oh yeah? And just how're you planning to get past all of us?" Dadoria asked as he readied himself for some resistance, as did the rest of his men. Caroline, realizing she initially had no plan of action, silently panicked as Shin quivered behind her.

Dadoria lead his charge forward. As Shin screamed in terror, Caroline did the first thing that came to mind.

"Solar Flare!"

The blinding light stopped Dadoria in his tracks before he could even lay a hand on her. Once the sting faded from everyone's eyes, not a trace was left of either Shin or Caroline.

"Damn it!" the portly alien cursed.

"Well don't just _stand_ there! Find them! If you don't, I'll never get out of this dump!" screamed Babidi from above.

"Do you think that trick of yours worked?" asked Shin as he hung onto Caroline's back. In an effort to conceal them, she decided to descend into the thick mists floating alongside the bottoms of the cliffs.

"I think so. I don't see anyone following us, do you?" Caroline asked back as she looked behind her, all while continuing to fly straight. While she watched her tail, Shin noticed a soldier creep out from the fog not too far ahead of them.

"AH! There's one right there!" he yelled as he pointed in the alien's direction. As Caroline braced for him, it was too late. The elite she recognized as Appule shot a large, yellow energy blast at the two. Knowing it would be impossible to avoid at such a close range, she had no choice but to take the hit. With her arms crossed in front of her, the detonation threw her back a few dozen feet, and sent Shin falling.

"Shin!" Caroline cried out as she caught sight of him through the smoke.

"Save yourself!" was all Shin yelled back as his small body disappeared in the foggy depths of the trench. Caroline's grieving of him was cut short thanks to an incoming fist from Dadoria. After an easy dodge she flew back a ways, prepping for her attack. Several more soldiers came to Dadoria's side as her hands filled with energy.

"Spiral…Comet…" Dadoria and the other elites stood where she left them, curious on what the girl had to offer.

"SOOOAAR!" In a brilliant wave, the comet engulfed the group completely. She waited a few moments to see what was left, but as the smoke cleared, she gasped to find them all completely unaffected.

"Well what do you know, that actually tickled a little," smirked Dadoria as he brushed the dust from his unscathed uniform. Caroline shivered in disbelieved, not even acknowledging the remaining soldiers appear from below her.

The fogs soon exploded into nothingness as Caroline's body was catapulted far beyond the cliff's edge, only to be kicked straight back into the dirt by an elite soldier she recognized to be Cui.

She tumbled across the dirt until her head and back collided with the side of a large boulder. Once more, her skull throbbed relentlessly. As she stood back up, she tried to mentally count just how many times her head had gotten injured today.

"Definitely gonna get some memory loss from that one," she mumbled as she grasped the back of her head.

"Oh, don't worry about that. Brain damaged or not, as long as you're alive, that's all that'll matter to Lord Frieza," Dadoria assured to her as he and his men landed. Dadoria, grinning at his victory, began his first few steps towards the Earthling. Deep down, Caroline knew she would stand a chance against them all at once. She pinned herself against the rock, ready to give her all before she let the freak touch her, before being handed over to Frieza, before—

"Look out!"

The fleet was soon overtaken in a barrage made up of dozens of energy blasts. As Dadoria turned his gaze to the surprised ambush, a stray blast caught him off guard and pushed him back to the rest of his men. Caroline, giving into her week knees, crouched against the boulder and watched as the elites attempted to collect themselves after the commotion ceased, Dadoria being the most infuriated of them all.

"Alright! Who did that? I demand to know who!" It wasn't long before one of his soldiers gave him an answer.

"General! Up there on the rocks!"

All beings present, even Caroline, looked to the nearby, misshapen plateaus in the distance. As Caroline focused, she thought for sure her injured head was causing her to see things. The details of the stranger standing a few hundred yards away were silhouetted thanks to the nearby fog, but his black hair was short and spiked a certain style that Caroline knew all too well.

"_Could it be…? I…I think it is!"_ she thought to herself as the stranger's white aura went ablaze, heading straight for her and the elites. _"I'm saved! Goku's come back! He's here to rescue me! He's—wait a second."_

As "Goku" landed between her and Frieza's fleet, his back facing Caroline, she realized the man was anything but. Under his white halo, his hair and face were the only likenesses of Goku he possessed. His muscular physique was dressed in Saiyan armor, tainted with a deep purple in his armbands, boots, and protective plating. His skin tone was much darker than even Bardock's, and a brown tail had itself wrapped itself around his waist.

"_That's not Goku. That's…"_ As the name of her 'savior' hit her, her sense of security was shattered in an instant.

"Turles!" Dadoria roared as he barged his way through his men, all covered in a few new scratches.

"'Sup, lard bucket?" smirked Turles as he folded his arms across his chest.

"And just what do you think you're doing?"

Turles shrugged his shoulders. "Oh y'know, just passing through. Thought you guys would make excellent target practice. Well, except you, Dadoria. With your size, it would almost be impossible for me to miss," he said with a devious smile.

"Hmph! I almost forgot just how funny you thought you were."

"And _I_ almost forgot just how ugly _you_ were. Now all those years of repression have been utterly wasted."

"Grr! I don't have time for your gab! You're outnumbered and outclassed! Step aside and hand over the girl!"

"Oh, I'd love to, believe me. But considering that Frieza needs her to regain a heartbeat, I'm going to have to say 'no'." The Saiyan replied, his expression turning from teasing to serious.

"And just how'd you come across that information?"

"Gossip spreads like wildfire down here, and I wanted to see for myself if the rumors were true. And since they are, the human's not going anywhere."

Before Dadoria could respond, a ki blast cut him off. Caroline crawled far away from the dent in the boulder Turles had created after attempting to sneak away from behind the rocks.

"Case in point," remarked the Saiyan.

As Caroline turned to her attacker, she found Turles glaring right back, clearly not amused by her actions. "Try that again, and I'll be sure not to intentionally miss," he hissed. The harshness in his otherwise smooth voice ran a chill up Caroline's spine, preventing her from moving another inch. Satisfied, Turles returned his eyes to the elites.

"Yeah well, only a fool would be stupid enough to challenge him now, not when he's so close to achieving his immortality," continued Dadoria.

"You're going to call _me_ a fool? After Frieza practically sent all of you to your deaths and would've most likely killed you anyway if he had become immortal, you wanna try to get on his good side and start the whole thing all over again? If you ask me, that's probably the most idiotic move you've made yet, Dadoria. That or the unflattering choice of armor."

"That's it! You're HISTORY!"

"Wait, General!" bellowed a voice from the back. As the owner of the voice made his way forward, his large, muscled frame and orange skin were the most noticeable of his features, in addition to the red and blue garments wrapped about his armor. A darkened, cross-shaped scar was present on the left side of his chin. "_I_ will deal with this prick."

"Good to see you too, Armond," Turles greeted to his former crewmember, almost sounding happy at the insult. "Now correct me if I'm wrong, but as I recall, you joined my team to get _away_ from Frieza. I find it hard to believe that you bought his little story like the rest of these idiots."

"Well, _'Master Turles,_' as _I_ recall, the only reason I left was because you promised me, and the rest of the crew, fruit from the Tree of Might. But look how that turned out: all of us getting killed at the hands of your weakling cousin, not even getting to taste the fruit's power, while you took it all for yourself." Turles furrowed his brow as the ex-pirate continued.

"I didn't always agree with Frieza back in the day, but at least I didn't spend _years_ following him on some wild goose chase through space for some legendary plant, only to die without gaining any of the benefits. In hindsight, I should've known that little grudge of yours would eventually get the better of you. You never cared about us, all you cared about was ending Frieza with your own two hands."

Armond's former commander continued his silence.

"I think a little payback is in order for all the trouble you've caused me, _and_ my teammates. I've been waiting these last thirty years to finally cross paths with you, and now, I'm not going to waste the opportunity."

Turles lowered his arms and once again smirked to his opponents, "Well, Armond, since you've _obviously_ made up your mind, I'll humor you. But be careful what you wish for…"

The Saiyan instantly vanished from view and in a spit second sent a fist through Armond's abdomen, causing the rest of his body explode into nothing but smoke and energy. The rest of the soldiers pounced upon the lone warrior and all out war commenced. Even with dozens of galactic elites attacking at one time, Turles had no difficulty making sure every soldier he came into contact with as left hurting. It wasn't long before Dardoria got his chance. Turles evaded a few jabs to his face and weaved around he and his soldiers' energy blasts with little effort.

As he landed to a nearby platform, the Saiyan pleasurably watched as a few protruding veins throbbed near Dadoria's temples in frustration.

"You cocky ape! You honestly think you can take on Frieza's best!"

"You and I both know that I very well could. But right now, I'm the least of your concerns." As Turles spoke, a few more, spiky-haired silhouettes came into view behind him. A few went to several, and several went into numerous.

"Remember that bit you said about me being outnumbered and outclassed?" asked a mischievous Turles.

Dadoria and his fleet found themselves shaking in their boots at the sight of hundreds of Saiyans, most of which having ascended to Super Saiyan, elevated around the stoned hill above the former pirate. At the front of the lot stood Bardock's old team and an older Saiyan, dressed in white and brown armor with a dark blue cape flowing behind him. His spiked hair that sprouted a very defined widow's peak and goatee shined of gold as his teal eyes cast down on the terrified squadron. Caroline looked in awe as she witnessed the gathering of one of the most feared warrior races of the universe, all clustered around their great king.

"Orders, your majesty?" Turles asked as he turned to the royal, giving an elegant bow as he directed his arms to Frieza's goons. For King Vegeta, his answer was short and sweet, for every Saiyan to hear.

"Get 'em."

As the rows upon rows of Saiyans immediately dived in from the skies, the majority of Frieza's men immediately turned tail and fled, never expecting that they would be risking their very existence in this mission.

"Come back here, you cowards!" roared Dadoria as he tried to blast down a few incoming assailants. Unbeknownst to the soldier, Turles swooped in and leaned into one of his pointed ears.

"Fat, pink imbecile says what?"

"What—GRRAAAH!" A hard hit from Turles' Pulse Drive attack sent Dadoria flying into the dirt and eventually broke his body away into nothing.

Caroline was absolutely dumbstruck at the hectic scene before her. Smoke, different colors of light and Saiyans flooded the area in a matter of seconds, all of which set on obliterating what remained of Frieza's elites. After a few stray blasts awoke her from her daze she figured that it was her cue to leave, and slowly eased her way across the boulder. After she was safely behind it, she headed for the hills.

Tora, Bardock's closet friend and who was one of the many on the field that ascended Super Saiyan form, gave a hard punch at an elite soldier, sending him straight to the ground. He looked not too far off and noticed that Turles was still in the fray, looking like he was having an absolute ball as he disintegrated a couple of soldiers.

"Turles? Where's the girl?" he asked causally as he flew close to the engaged ex-pirate.

"How should I know? I thought one of you took her already!"

"I thought you said that _you_ would take her if you found her first," Tora replied as he shot down an incoming elite.

"What? It was just a suggestion! I didn't actually plan on finding anybody!"

"Enough!" came King Vegeta as he hovered above the two lower class Saiyans. "Turles, regardless of what you _planned_, I would advise that you keep your word, relocate the Earthling and proceed to King Yemma's. The upper levels of Hell should pose no problem for you. We will take care of things here and make sure no new threats emerge into this Sector."

Turles tried to spit out any possible argument, but soon figured that it would be best not to question his king. He wearily sighed as he accepted his new orders. "Yes, your majesty…"

Flying as fast as she had ever flown before, Caroline zoomed across the harsh landscape, far beyond the cliffs. The battlefield behind her was almost clear from view as she proceeded to head to the openings of the higher sectors, wherever they were. All was going well, until an armored chest appeared directly in front of her. Caroline screeched to a halt as she once again confronted the dark-skinned Saiyan.

"What did I say about staying put?" Turles growled. The instant reply he received was a blast to the face, and a hand on his head as Caroline somersaulted over him. As she flipped around, she fired two rounds of ki at the man's exposed back. Expecting some retaliation, she instead watched the smoke open up to find Turles in the exact same spot, not a scratch on him. The aggravated ex-pirate turned his head to face her, giving a very sour look.

"Really? _This_ is what I get for—" Caroline's war cry prevented him from finishing as she darted back to his front and struck his open cheek with her fist. Both stood motionless for a moment, until Caroline finally buckled. She yelped in pain and held her hand tightly as if she had just aimlessly punched a block of steel. Turles merely crossed his arms again as Caroline tried to nurse her damaged knuckles.

"Stop wasting your energy. You can't hurt me," he warned.

"Oh really! Well I haven't met anyone, dead or alive, that's immune to _this_!" In a flash, she was before Turles once again, this time with a leg aimed right for her enemy's groin. Without even a flinch from her opponent, she landed her strike directly between his legs. Her expression went from determination to extreme misery as she immediately clutched her lower leg. Unable to take the pain, she descended to the ground and rolled back and forth in agony.

"Yeah, funny thing about down here," Turles explained as Caroline continued to blurt obscenities from below. "If you're alive, you can't hurt or kill what's already dead. Hence why Dadoria and his drones were unscathed by your attacks. But since you're on _our_ turf, we can pretty much do whatever we want to you."

Caroline sat herself up and faced the Saiyan as she rubbed her new injury. "That…that doesn't sound fair at all!"

"Well what did you expect? It's _Hell_. _Nothing'_s fair down here. Heck, getting rid of Dadoria's probably been the only stroke of luck I've had since I got here." Being reminded of the matter at hand, he increased the volume of his voice to show the Earthling he meant business, "Now quit screwing around! If you have any serious intentions of getting out of this pit, then you're going to have to come with me."

Despite the strong aching in her leg, Caroline slowly positioned herself back up on both feet. "Why would I want to go anywhere with you?"

"Well let's take a look at your options, shall we? Keep in mind that I wasn't kidding when I said that practically all of Hell knows about Frieza's offer. And I can guarantee that there will be more powerful souls just as eager as Dadoria to get their hands on you for the chance of getting revived. So, you could either choose to come with me, one who has been given the directions to King Yemma's and promises to get you there unharmed, _or_, you could stay here and wait for the _rest_ of Frieza's men. Or, if nothing else, eventually succumb to dehydration…or hunger. Whichever comes first for you people."

Caroline didn't feel at all comfortable with either of those scenarios. However, despite her current circumstances, she was no mood to have to fall into the supposed protection of one of Goku's troublesome villains. "And I'm supposed to automatically trust you just like that? Well I know all about you and what you did to the Earth with the Tree of Might! And if you think I'm going to just willingly tag along, then you'd—"

"Hey! I think that human went this way!" shouted the faded voice of a close by elite.

"Good! Let's get her before those Saiyans do!" replied another.

"You'd…be absolutely right. Let's go!" Caroline concluded. Before Turles could comment, the Earth girl whizzed by him at top speed in the direction she was heading in beforehand. The Saiyan pirate, slightly stunned by her quick cooperation, took a moment before following after her.

"_Hope the rest of this little journey is that simple,"_ he thought.

_To Be Continued…_

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**A.N. : Well, what do you think? Thanks to all those who reviewed Chapter 15, by the way. It's greatly appreciated and has helped a lot in the continuation of this tale. **

**I'm sure that some of you are wondering how things are going on Earth right now, but don't worry. Bardock and the other Z-Fighters will be definitely be back next chapter. As for Caroline, well, I can't really say much at the moment. Stay tuned!**

**To view the poster for this chapter, here's the URL: /TOA-Poster-Out-of-the-Frying-Pan-330482818**


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